Call of the Force
by CoGDork
Summary: It was all just fiction, or so I thought. But it's hard not to be a believer when you fall into a hole between universes. Now I'm learning about the Force, and my actions may end up having consequences for more than just the Republic.
1. Chapter 1

****A/N:**** **__**Welcome to my newest OC-insert fic! This time, I'm doing Star Wars. Hopefully I don't screw it up, and can learn a few things that I can use in my other fics. One caveat: I have never watched TCW, nor read any of the novels, comics, etc., that take place in that period. Nearly everything I'm doing here will be based on what little I do know combined with centuries' worth of wiki-walking. I'll try to keep things as consistent as possible, though.**__**

 ** _ **I do not own Star Wars. That belongs to Disney, as does the soul of the first-born child of every successive generation. All hail Darth Mouse.**_**

* * *

You ever notice how, whenever the world turns crappy, people tend to rush for fantasy or science fiction stories? If you think about it, it makes sense in general. After all, when reality hits you too hard, the urge to escape can be tempting. But that doesn't explain why, sometimes, the stories they run _to_ are almost as depressing as the reality they're running _from_. And yet, that's precisely what people have been doing for a long while. You see, we often underestimate the relationship between fiction and reality—we write the stories, but at the same time, the stories we read affect our actions and mindset, which in turn affects OUR story.

In a sense, it's kind of a vicious cycle; we see the world going down the tubes, we flock to fiction as an escape—and at first, we head for the inspiring ones, the ones that give us hope. We take that hope, try to put it back in our world, and sometimes it succeeds and the world goes back on its merry way. But sometimes we give up way too early, and lose that hope—at which point we discard the very concept of hope and idealism as "foolish", "unrealistic", or worst of all, "childish". That's when we turn to the "gritty realism" (or, more accurately, "grimderp that is designed to cater to people who have no hope in a cynical moneymaking opportunity while attempting to pass itself off as realism") kind of fantasy or science fiction, where heroes fail, where villains win, where the only real choice is to either burn everything to the ground and start over, or—more often than not—just grab what you can for yourself in what little time remains before the fire consumes you. And when we read those stories, we take that cynicism, put it back into our world, and when the world continues hurtling toward oblivion we act like it was inevitable, when in fact, we are partly to blame; we gave up. Because evidently, giving up is "cool" and "edgy".

I was one of the few people who didn't buy into that crap. That said, I was still part of the problem; I read the hopeful stories and fantasies, but I saw them as nothing more than an escape from a doomed reality. After all, when you're a scrawny 15-year-old geek with no life and no real friends, there's not much you feel you can do aside from read/play/watch your favorite stories—in my case, Star Wars. This was all well and good until the new movies started coming out. Now don't get me wrong, I've actually enjoyed most of J.J. Abram's stuff, and the special effects in the latest movies were top-notch in a way that the franchise had not been for a good while. But as much as it felt like Star Wars for the first time in ages, there was one thing missing, some vital ingredient to the Star Wars recipe that the old canon had, that the new films lacked: hope. These new movies, as much as I loved them, seemed devoid of true hope. Even in the darkest moments of the other ones, even Episode III, there was always some sense that, sure, evil triumphed today, but the heroes will kick ass and everyone will walk away happy in the end. But not in these new tales. Yeah, story-wise, it's obvious the heroes will win in the end. But you don't feel at all optimistic about it. Even when the heroes do succeed, there seems to be some all-pervasive worry that it all might end up being in vain. And that's when I started to feel like giving in and joining the lemmings chuckling to themselves as they walk off the cliff complaining about how much the cliff sucks: when the last truly hopeful stories that I held dear were tempted by cynicism. Fortunately for me—and the rest of the world—that's when fate intervened.

* * *

"Status?"

"Temporal distortion and null quantum field emissions all within optimal parameters, sir."

Lieutenant Commander Orson Krennic was not an idle manager; on the contrary, when projects of this scale were being undertaken, he made certain that his input and direction were involved at every possible level. Even in this early stage—when the battlestation as a whole was little more than a theory—nothing could be left to chance. Today's test of a prototype hyperdrive system was of particularly vital importance; the fortress, when complete, would be far too massive for any conventional hyperdrive to operate properly. Not only would they need to design something that could, when scaled up, move an object the size of a small moon, they would have to create an entirely new method of controlling space-time distortion just to ensure that the sheer size of the superweapon did not cause it to tear itself apart while in hyperspace. After all, what use would a planet-destroying station be if it could not move without obliterating itself?

Krennic observed his technicians from a walkway overlooking the experiment control room, which was isolated from the testing area by thick glass and several layers of stasis fields. As he continued to watch the experiment, a smile grew over his features; this weapon would be his masterwork, he could see that already. That said, he knew the project would proceed much faster with the input of Galen Erso, but the scientist would never willingly work on such a weapon, even now that the charges of espionage with the Separatists had been dropped (via Krennic's own influence). He would have to consider alternative measures of gaining the scientist's aid—perhaps deceiving him as to the nature of the project itself?

His musings were interrupted by a minor alarm. Remaining calm, he leaned over the edge of the walkway and glared at the lead technician, who was currently at the main computer.

"What's going on?"

The lead technician's eyes went wide as he looked at the readouts. "We have a problem, sir—"

"The alert told me that already, idiot! Tell me what the problem is!"

"The distortion field is fluctuating beyond acceptable parameters!"

Krennic facepalmed. This was not how he wanted the day to go. "Dammit... very well. Shut off the experiment for now."

"I can fix this, sir. Just a moment—"

Before Krennic could object, the technician had already begun making his adjustments in the main computer. The result was a yellow light above the main window flashing, and the alarm shifting accordingly. What was at first a simple alert was now a site area emergency.

"I get the feeling that didn't help! Shut it down!"

"Isolating the problem—"

"Did I _stutter,_ you dolt?! I gave you an order!"

"Sir, it's not on our end! There's some sort of interference from outside the facility!"

To say this was not good was an understatement. This particular research facility was located on Coruscant, carefully hidden in the underlevels, away from prying eyes, and an incident like this one could easily expose its location. Thinking quickly, Krennic began giving further orders.

"Shut it down anyway! Then switch to our backup generators _immediately_!"

"But sir, those are for emergencies—"

"THIS _IS_ AN EMERGENCY! What do you think will happen if people notice an unexplained draw on the power grid for this area occurring at the same time as whatever is going on out there?!"

"Sir, I can fix—AUGH!"

A shot from Krennic's blaster silenced the lead tech as he pointed to the man's immediate subordinate. "Congratulations on your promotion. Now TURN THE BLOODY THING OFF!"

* * *

At that moment, in another universe, a 15-year old boy was running back and forth between two larger teens in an alley as they threw his cell phone back and forth between them. Yup, that was me.

"Come on, Marshall, give me my phone back!"

"Why don't you make me, wimp? Hey, Tommy, catch!"

Marshall Dalton was, in my mind, proof of the normally joking stereotype that gingers didn't have souls; either that, or I had been on to something when I theorized he was part ape. The latter hypothesis didn't seem too much of a stretch, considering his massive frame, even for a Junior in high school. His longtime partner-in-crime, Tommy Marko, was just as bad; the fact that his pretty-boy brunette features made him insanely popular with the ladies seemed an unnecessary insult to injury. Both of which he and Marshall regularly inflicted on me.

"Stop it! I just got that phone—"

Tommy responded with a mocking tone. "Aw, what, you afraid we're gonna break it? Hey, Marsh, go long!"

Time seemed to slow down as my phone flew through the air towards Marshall, who began to hold out his hands as one would catch a thrown football, only to deliberately drop them and allow the phone to smash into the pavement. Crushed, I knelt before my murdered phone as the two stood over me, jeering.

"Heh, whoops! I guess I got butterfingers!"

"Good one, Marsh!"

Now, to be frank, I was terrified of these two, so under normal circumstances, fighting back was something I never considered. But a guy can only take so much abuse before he cracks; my poor phone, combined with the mocking laughter, was the last straw.

"Shut up..."

The two looked at me with mild surprise as Marshall chuckled incredulously. "Excuse me?"

"Shut UP!"

I quickly stood to my feet and spat in Marshall's face. Several moments of shocked silence passed before the bully in question wiped his mug clean, glaring at me with pure hatred. It was at that point I realized that I had just done something insanely stupid and potentially suicidal; the roll of thunder at that moment only highlighted my impending doom.

"You... little... shit!"

Before he could finish the curse, I bolted in the direction of a nearby municipal playground, abandoning the remains of my phone as the two gave chase. Sadly, as both were on the football team, I didn't stand a chance in hell of getting far on foot, a fact that was driven home when Marshall grabbed me by the collar from behind and spun me around. Rain began to fall, but something like a shower wasn't going to save me from the redheaded gorilla's wrath. Snarling, he punched me right in the gut, knocking the wind out of me and dropping me to my knees.

"You're not going anywhere!"

Before I could comply, Tommy roughly yanked me off the ground and threw me back into Marshall, who responded with another gut punch, knocking me down again.

"Get up, asshole! I ain't done with you! GET UP!" Once again, I was dragged to my feet, only for the next punch to strike me across the jaw, sending me on a sideways trajectory toward the ground.

Now, most people don't believe in fate; after all, coincidence can explain a great many things. But sometimes, a series of occurrences happens in such a way that design is the only explanation. Just as Orson Krennic was conducting his experiment, a star several thousand light-years away from Earth went supernova; slightly closer, another star happened to collapse into a black hole. On the exact same line of direction, a minor natural shift in space occurred, completely independent of both previous incidents. It would not be independent for long, though, as the combined energy of the supernova and the formation of the black hole exacerbated the shift, causing a chain reaction in the direction of Earth. Thankfully, each successive shift in the chain was progressively smaller—otherwise, the planet would have been destroyed. As it happened, by the time the chain reaction reached the surface, the shift was just the exact size of a single person; at that same instant, lightning struck the spot where that shift happened, causing it to open a hole between universes just long enough to permit safe passage, the bolt passing through first and miraculously avoiding anything else in the vicinity.

And what do you know, the spot in question just happened to be the very patch of grass Marshall's last punch sent me falling towards.

* * *

Had the interference on the other side of the portal been anywhere near the facility where Krennic's experiment was conducted, this story would have been over very quickly. But again, fate, not coincidence, was ruling things that day. And fate decreed that the disturbance happen far above, in the sky above the upper levels of Coruscant where two Jedi Knights, accompanied by a padawan, were traveling in a speeder towards the Jedi Temple.

"Anakin, we are no longer on a battlefield."

"I'm aware of that, Obi-wan."

"So why are you still flying as if we are?"

The younger knight shrugged playfully as he dipped, ducked, dived and dodged his way through the busy Coruscant traffic. His padawan, Ahsoka Tano, managed to keep her composure even as she held on for dear life. "Master, not to be disrespectful—"

"A phrase people say just before being disrespectful, snips."

"—but aren't there better ways to beat the rush?"

Obi-wan rolled his eyes as the speeder missed a transport by a hair. "Forget it. I gave up trying to stop this nonsense years ago."

Anakin was about to respond with snark of his own when all three felt a massive disturbance in the force directly above them. Quickly looking in that direction, they saw a hole open up in the sky and a small humanoid shape falling out of it. Without any hesitation, Anakin veered straight up, pushing the speeder to its limit to reach the falling individual in time. As they neared the mysterious person, Ahsoka reached out with the force to slow the figure's fall as Obi-wan used his telekinesis to pull them safely aboard. Upon closer inspection, the figure turned out to be an unconscious teenage human male wearing odd clothing. Ahsoka frowned.

"Okay, either of you have any clue what just happened here? Where did he come from?"

Anakin turned around in his seat to look at the rescued teen. "I don't know, snips. We can figure it out when he wakes up."

"There may be even more to this child than meets the eye, you two..."

Both turned to the elder knight, puzzled... until they noticed a familiar sensation coming from the boy. Obi-wan finished his sentence, worry crossing his face.

"He's force-sensitive. And powerfully so."

* * *

 ** _ **Review if you have any opinions or suggestions!**_**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** **_Disney owns Star Wars. And will soon control the Earth, once they finally vanquish their foes at WB and establish true dominance over our planet._**

* * *

Even before I opened my eyes, I knew something was very different. Not wrong, mind you—just different. For one, there was this bizarre feeling of being somewhat crowded, but I don't mean in the sense of being claustrophobic; this was more like... being at a huge party, where just looking at all the people there makes you feel different. Somehow, even without opening my eyes, I _knew_ exactly how many people were in my immediate vicinity—four, to be precise—but beyond that, I also knew there were roughly a metric crapload of people in the general area, extending for a distance I couldn't quite tell. It was so overwhelming it was making my head spin almost as fast as Marsh's punch had. I didn't have much time to ruminate on that before voices started to filter into my consciousness.

"...have to ask...when he wakes up...be too long, now. His vitals are stable."

I groaned a bit, squinting behind closed eyes and squirming a bit as I did so.

"Hold on, he's coming round!"

" _Coming round"? What, did Marsh hit me so hard I landed in the UK? And where the hell have I heard that voice before..._

My thoughts were answered in a very surprising fashion as I finally opened my eyes to an impossible view. Four fictional characters—Rig Nema, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, and Ahsoka Tano—were standing over me as I lay in a high-tech hospital bed. I reacted in the same way any ordinary, sane person would:

"AAAAAHHH!"

As I screamed, the weird sensation I had been feeling went even more wild, until I felt like my head would split open from the sensory overload. I clutched my head in pain as the suddenly real characters tried to help.

"Hey, it's okay, you're safe now! We're not gonna hurt you!"

"I don't think it is entirely us, Padawan! His initial panic is causing his Force sense to spike beyond his mind's ability to sort out the noise!"

I continued freaking out, feeling everything and everyone all at once, the sheer volume of presence threatening to drive me insane... until I felt two hands clutching my shoulders, and an oddly foreign yet comforting presence reach out into my mind as Obi-Wan spoke to me in a quiet tone.

"Calm down. Breathe, in and out, slowly."

Somehow, I managed to still myself and start to follow his direction, but it was NOT easy, and the noise kept coming back, only for Kenobi's voice and presence to stabilize things.

"That's it. Deep breaths. Just relax and let go, and it'll sort itself out..."

As I followed his advice, his words began to come true; the overwhelming sensations were beginning to quiet down, my mind slowly starting to make sense of its surroundings. After a few moments, I managed to calm myself enough to open my eyes again and face what was happening as best I could.

Obi-Wan smiled at me, patting me on the shoulder as he let go. "There, you seem to have it under control for now!"

"So where was this super-calm version of you when I was his age?" Anakin snarked, getting an eyeroll from his old master before looking at me. "You gave us a real scare, kid. You okay now?"

I may have calmed down, but I was still definitely _not_ okay. "My head is killing me still... and I'm pretty sure I'm either dreaming, or going nuts. Other than that, I'm just peachy."

The resident padawan chuckled lightly. "I'm guessing you've never actually met real Jedi before, huh? What's your name?"

"Kevin Caller," I said, averting my eyes and desperately hoping to wake up soon. "And to answer your question, no."

"Well, then, Kevin, my name's Ahsoka Tano. The tall dark guy is my Master, Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, the bearded one is Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, and the doctor is Jedi healer Rig Nema."

The latter smiled briefly as she held a strange device up to my chest and moved it up and down, obviously some sort of medical scanner. "You seem to be physically well, aside from a minor injury to your left cheek, but that was a simple fix. How did you come by that?"

"And where did you come from, aside from a hole in the sky?" Skywalker asked, leaning against a wall.

I didn't know how to respond. I was still at least 99% that I was unconscious and dreaming, but that pesky one percent was growing rapidly. At first, I thought to just say the whole truth, but a strange feeling came over me that made me rethink that plan. Somehow I got the sudden idea that it would be a bad idea™ to tell these people that they were fictional where I came from... so I left that part out.

"I don't know how I got here. There was a guy who picks on me all the time, he was hitting me, and then all of a sudden, he clocks me on the jaw and I woke up with you guys standing over me. What was that weird feeling, by the way?"

The four Jedi frowned, looking at each other briefly before Anakin responded. "You... you don't know? I mean, even I knew I was different long before the Order found me."

It didn't take long for me to start putting the pieces together after that; Obi-Wan's next words only confirmed my guess. "That, young one, was the Force. You have a great deal of potential in it."

"A great deal?" Ahsoka raised an eyebrow. "That's an understatement. He's got almost as much power in him as you, Master Kenobi."

I shook my head. "No, there's no way that's possible... I mean, I've never had it before—"

Master Nema spoke next, worry in her tone. "That's the truly peculiar part, at least according to my readings. It is as if he were completely force-deaf until the moment he arrived, and only now gained sensitivity; as a result, his body and mind have yet to adjust to all the new stimuli that come with it. He's right, this shouldn't be possible."

"Exist, the impossible does not." A familiar voice came from the doorway as a near flood of sensation rushed over me, causing me to clutch my head again as I turned to see no less than Yoda himself. "Improbable? Yes. But possible through the Force, many strange things are."

The diminutive master smiled at me. "Much to speak on, we have. Master Nema, finished with his physical examination, are you?"

The healer nodded. "Yes, Master Yoda. Aside from curiosity over his force sensitivity, there is little more that can actually be done at this moment. I was just about to clear him when you entered, in fact."

"Good. Remain here and continue looking over your findings for now, you must. Master Kenobi and the rest, come speak to the council with the boy you shall."

Yoda gestured for us to follow him; I managed to do so, but as we continued moving through the Temple, my control over my new force sensitivity was still tenuous, and I nearly stumbled as we passed through a crowded hall, only for Obi-Wan to steady me and guide me again. As embarrassing as it was, I probably wouldn't have made it to the council chambers if he hadn't kept helping me. Finally, we managed to reach the doors to the council chamber; Yoda entered first and began walking toward his seat, the door opening to reveal the rest of the Jedi High Council already present and seated: Mace Windu, Plo Koon, Ki-Adi-Mundi, Saesee Tiin, Kit Fisto, Oppo Rancisis, Shaak Ti, Eeth Koth, Adi Gallia, and Depa Billaba. To say that I was intimidated was a massive understatement, and I immediately felt their gaze on me.

Windu gestured to me and the others. "Kenobi, Skywalker, Padawan Tano, give our guest some room to step forward."

I took a couple of steps toward the center of the room, only for the same problem to arise again. This was going to take some getting used to.

"With all due respect, Master Windu," Obi-Wan spoke, moving to steady me, "the boy has no control over his sensitivity, which is considerable. I had to use my own power to stabilize his several times on the way here just to keep him from collapsing under the strain of it all."

The council members all looked at each other with various expressions of surprise and concern before turning their gaze back to me.

"Intriguing," spoke Plo Koon, his mask distorting his voice as he turned to me. "Tell us, where are you from? Perhaps your origins might shed light on your condition."

I started to speak, but again, that same feeling warning me of telling them anything about the series stopped me short, and I decided to leave it out again. "Believe it or not, I'm not from any world you're familiar with. In fact, I'm not even from this universe."

A shocked silence followed before Plo Koon continued his questioning. "...How are you certain of this?"

"Yes, please enlighten us," Windu spoke, skepticism in his tone. "We know you are deliberately leaving some very important details out of your story."

I gulped, trying to explain as best I could. "Well... you see, I _want_ to tell you, but... it's like, every time I try, I get this feeling like it would be a really bad idea to do it. I'm pretty sure I actually _could_ say, if I ignored the feeling and tried anyway, but—"

The expressions of the council spoke volumes; they seemed to know what was going on here. Ki-Adi-Mundi finished my sentence. "...but the feeling of wrongness gives you pause, is that it?" I nodded in confirmation as he clarified. "That is the Force, young one. The fact that you can feel it to such a degree, even without training... there are very few precedents of such a thing, even in the oldest histories. Whatever the case, such feelings are important, and I suspect there is good reason for the Force to prevent you from revealing certain things until their due time."

"In agreement, I am."

"As am I," Windu spoke. "What else can you say of your origins?"

I continued with my explanations, always wary of that feeling whenever it popped up. "Well, for one, we don't have the Force. We don't have Jedi, heck, we don't have SPACEFLIGHT. Humans are the only species we're aware of so far. We're not even a unified species; our planet is still divided into a lot of different countries. As for me, I'm nobody—just a regular guy in school who got picked on all the time. I have no clue why I'm here, or what's so special about me."

As I spoke, the council members occasionally exchanged glances and whispers among themselves at various aspects of my story. After I finished, Yoda closed his eyes briefly before giving his input.

"Hrmmm. Believe you, we do. But uncertain the reason for your presence remains."

Windu nodded. "One thing is for certain; the power you possess can and will destroy you, or worse, if left uncontrolled."

Ki-Adi-Mundi turned to the grandmaster, slight surprise on his features. "Are you suggesting we allow the boy to be trained? He is MUCH too old."

"Normally, I would agree," Windu replied, "But this is a special case. Exceptions have been made in the past for individuals with great potential; one of them stands in this very room."

Anakin stood slightly taller as Plo Koon gave his own nod of agreement. "Indeed. It would be irresponsible of us to turn aside one whose own power might destroy him if left unchecked when we can render aid. And in the process, perhaps we may uncover the reason for his arrival."

The members of the Jedi High Council all looked to each other, giving their silent opinions on the matter at hand before leaving Windu to deliver the verdict. "Very well. By order of this council, you will be accepted into the Order, albeit under close supervision. The specifics of your training will be determined at a later date; for now, Master Kenobi will show you to your sleeping quarters. This council meeting is adjourned."

* * *

Elsewhere, on Coruscant, Sheev Palpatine stood at the window of his office, looking out over the skyline. The Jedi were quick to take the mystery person to their wretched temple, but the sky traffic cameras caught enough of a glimpse of what had happened that a holo of a mysterious teenage boy falling from the sky now sat on his desk. He had felt the disturbance all the way from this office; true, the boy was nowhere near the same level of power that the Chosen One possessed. But one thing was certain, the child was an unknown variable, and the Plan was far too important to be derailed by the unknown.

He turned to look at the various reports on his desk; his eye just happened to fall upon a heavily encrypted document from the Strategic Advisory Cell concerning a mishap with a hyperdrive experiment. Palpatine noticed the timestamp of the incident in the report, then with a slight start immediately grabbed the holo of the boy, noting the timestamp on the image. They were roughly the same. A terrible smile came over his features. Whatever secrets this boy held would not be hidden for long. His mind continued scheming as he placed his hand on the "call" button on his desk.

"Bring me Lieutenant Commander Krennic immediately. I wish to discuss certain events with him in private."

* * *

 _ **Feel free to hate me on the OC's name. Yes, the pun in the title was intentional, but honestly, I couldn't come up with anything better to call this story than that.**_


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** _**PALPATINE: Did you ever heard the tragedy of the Star Wars Expanded Universe?**_

 _ **ANAKIN: No.**_

 _ **PALPATINE: I thought not. It's not a story the Empire of the Mouse would tell you. It's a Space Opera legend. The Star Wars Expanded Universe was a shared universe of space opera literature so huge and so old, its writers could use their skill to influence George Lucas to create... new stories. Its greatest writers had such knowledge of the mechanics and history of the shared universe, that they could even retcon the characters they cared about... from death.**_

 _ **ANAKIN: They could actually... save fan-favorite characters from death?**_

 _ **PALPATINE: The Expanded Universe is a pathway to many stories some consider to be Legends.**_

 _ **ANAKIN: What happened to it?**_

 _ **PALPATINE: It became so big... the only thing it was afraid of was losing its status, which eventually, of course, it did. Unfortunately, it showed its successor everything it created, and then one night, the Empire of the Mouse killed it in its sleep. Ironic. It could retcon others back from death, but not itself.**_

 _ **ANAKIN: Is it possible to learn these stories?**_

 _ **PALPATINE: Not from a mouse.**_

 _ **-Stolen shamelessly from an epic YouTube comment.**_

 _ **Disney owns Star Wars, BTW. They will soon own the planet. Resistance is futile.**_

* * *

Even as Obi-Wan led me to the dorms, I still struggled with the whole "sensing everyone and everything in the general vicinity all at once" thing—not to mention the fact that I was still considering the possibility that I was just dreaming. The room I was given was small and rather bare, but considering that the Jedi were essentially a monastic order, it didn't surprise me. What did surprise me was the fact that I had a room of my own at _all_.

"You're a good deal older than the initiates and younglings," Obi-Wan said, "So you'll be staying in here where we usually board padawans instead of the common dormitories."

I turned to him, still clutching my head at the excess psychic noise that permeated every square inch of the temple. "Did you read my mind just now?"

He smiled warmly. "I didn't need to. Your expression said enough."

I looked around the extremely spartan dwelling. The bed looked soft enough, but...

"I... I don't know if I'll be able to get any sleep at all with... everything I'm feeling. Even when you're here, there's still so much that I'm seeing and feeling that it only calms it down a little."

Kenobi stroked his beard a bit, then snapped his fingers. "I've got it. Consider this your first lesson: how to meditate. Have a seat on that rug in the middle of the room, cross-legged."

Upon sitting down as instructed, the Jedi Master followed suit, sitting directly in front of me. "Now, close your eyes, and take slow, deep breaths. In through the nose, out through the mouth."

As I did so, my mind started to clear up noticeably. That said, there was still a lot of stuff I was sensing left, and it was already threatening to overwhelm me if I let it go...

"Now, just relax and let go. Stretch out with your feelings."

"Wait, won't that make it worse?" I said, keeping my eyes closed.

I heard him chuckle. "Actually, no. There are two reasons: first, the mind WANTS to make sense of all the information you're feeling. Once you calm yourself down, allow it to try, and it should gradually adapt. The second reason is a little more complicated, but it is an essential part of being a Jedi."

"And that is?"

"The Force, young one. It is more than just information, more than simple energy. It is the very essence and fabric of all that exists, and it has a will of its own; it seeks to nurture and guide living things, to help them grow. Having a strong connection doesn't just mean you can perceive it more than others, though that is the most obvious aspect; it means that, if you let it in, if you allow it to flow through you, then the Force will show you what to do. All you need do is let go, and trust it."

I sat in silence for a few more moments, letting Obi-Wan's words sink in, considering them. Finally, I decided to try it out; at first, the same overwhelming feeling started to happen, but as I slowed my breathing again, an entirely different sensation occurred.

Now, I'm going to be honest: I've never been a spiritual person. I never really had any religious thoughts or beliefs to speak of. But after feeling the Force, remaining agnostic is virtually impossible. It's almost beyond description; there is a sense of utter vastness, like an ocean of Everything, but at the same time, there's this feeling of incredible intimacy. It's like the parent or friend you never had, you feel that no matter what, you can absolutely _trust_ it to be there when you need it, to guide you when you're lost. There aren't any real words to do it justice. In any case, my mind stopped feeling like it was being bombarded with constant, endless information, and settled down to a quiet, barely audible buzz; still present, but not as intrusive.

I opened my eyes, and surprisingly, it didn't go out of control again. Obi-Wan himself had opened his eyes and was smirking at me, a slight chuckle to his voice. "Once again, your expression speaks volumes for you, young one."

I stood up slowly, still blown away by what I had just experienced. "Is it like that for everyone?"

He shook his head. "No. While all Jedi can feel the Force and sense its presence, some take more to that aspect than others; the fact that you can already sense so much at such a range that it overwhelmed you in that way, even though you've never trained before... that implies a certain level of inclination to sensory abilities. We will undoubtedly learn more as time goes on, though. In the meantime, feel free to look around the room, get a feel for it, then get some rest."

* * *

Somehow, I managed to get some sleep. Waking up the next morning to find myself still in my dormitory put the final nail in the whole "just a dream" theory—the sight of Ahsoka Tano carrying the one-size-fits-all robe, boots, and sash into the room only served to highlight my new reality.

"Hey, you're already up! I was about to wake you myself!"

"Yeah, I never had difficulty getting up early. House rules back in my world."

"What do you mean by 'house rules'?" said the padawan as she laid the outfit on a table. "Were you part of an order of some kind back there, too?"

I shook my head. "No. I grew up in a group home. The people who ran it were nice enough, but they had some strict rules on schedule and keeping your room clean."

"So you never knew your parents, huh?"

"Nope. Didn't really matter. All I was told was that my mother was a drug addict and had zero clue who my dad was—it could've been any one of a hundred guys she knew—so I was in the system pretty much from the start. I was lucky enough to get sent to a place that actually cared, but still, it would have been nice to have an actual family."

"Well, I better wait outside so you can get dressed," Ahsoka said, moving toward the door. "The Council's already decided on how to start your training, and Master Skywalker sent me to show you where it'll happen."

I looked over the robe and sash for a few moments; it seemed straightforward enough. Fortunately, I managed to somehow get it right the first time, though not without a few minutes of trial and error. Once dressed, I followed the padawan to the training rooms. One thing that struck me about the temple right from the moment I first set foot inside was just how massive it was; the trek to the training areas took us the distance of seven city blocks on Earth, with an elevator ride in the middle. There were in fact a number of separate training areas, all of them suited to various methods of study. The room we were headed to, according to Ahsoka, was one of many general-purpose chambers, mostly used to train general force powers and basic lightsaber forms.

When we finally reached our destination, we were greeted by Anakin, Obi-Wan, and a third Jedi, an alien I did not recognize, but whose race appeared familiar to me. It took me a few moments to remember that the species in question was called Klatoonian.

"Good morning," Anakin said, nodding to Ahsoka as well before gesturing to the alien. "This is Jedi Knight Celu Eelia; she's one of our premier sensory specialists, and she'll be helping you learn how to deal with that aspect. Obi-Wan has agreed to teach you when he can, and once you've got a handle on the basics, I'll lend Ahsoka as a training partner whenever I can spare her."

While Ahsoka grumbled something about not being a hydrospanner, I approached Eelia and bowed nervously, and received a bow in response. Unfortunately, an immediate problem popped up.

 **"Bo shuda. Ee coe panwa chai poonoo ding bargon."**

"Uh... sorry, but I don't speak that language..."

The three Jedi and the padawan all looked at each other briefly with a rather comical expression that screamed, 'Oh, of course, we're stupid.'

"Well, then," Obi-Wan said, "we'll have to fix that, won't we? Actually, this might be a good way to train your sense abilities—using telepathy to learn the language of another individual is a rare, but useful power. Both Celu and I are skilled in it, and hopefully by the end of today's sessions we can at least get you a basic force-assisted crash course in Huttese. Before we do anything else, however, we'll go through some meditative exercises..."

With that, my training began. After the meditation and warm-up, they focused primarily on helping me recognize and feel the presence of the Force around me in various ways before coaching me on how to actually manipulate it. That in itself was a unique experience; for example, if you want to use telekinesis on an object, you perceive the flow of ambient force energies, then... well, it's complicated. Part of it feels like you're "asking" the Force to move it, but you're also kind of grabbing at the energies and pulling on them, and at the same time it feels like you're moving it directly, feeling the object as if you're already holding it in your hand. Honestly, the Force is so insanely different that accurately describing it to someone who can't feel it is next to impossible. We didn't quite reach telekinesis on that session, though I did learn how to "feel" objects through the force.

Working with Master Eelia involved Obi-Wan coaching me on recognizing a specific individual in the force, then recognizing their mind, then learning to reach out into their mind, then how to converse, then finally, how to "copy" information from their mind to yours. It took a good while, but by the end of the lesson I'd managed to have enough knowledge of Huttese to ask general questions, understand instructions and commands, greet and introduce, among other things. In the process, I also learned some of the Galactic Basic alphabet, aurebesh, along with the Huttese alphabet.

There was also some multitasking involved in my training; while going through some physical exercises (though no combat instruction—that would have to wait until I got the basics down), I learned some of the basic terminology and workings of the Order, how to use a holocron, and later on I even learned how to operate a datapad (which honestly wasn't that hard. It's not terribly different from a smartphone, really) so that I could read the holobooks I was given at the end of the session, after which I was allowed to eat lunch with the three Jedi and Ahsoka in one of the many dining halls in the temple.

The food, while decidedly not of Earth, wasn't absurdly out of this world either; I managed to find something that vaguely resembled your average rice-with-meat dish back home in both appearance and taste.

"So, Kevin. Is there anything else you can tell us about your world? Or will the Force let you?" Anakin said as he waited for his food to cool down.

"Hmm... no, I keep getting that 'bad idea' feeling. It's actually getting a lot clearer than just a feeling, though. Kind of like a whisper, or a set of images as well."

Obi-Wan looked at me with a chuckle. "Well, hopefully you'll do a better job at actually _listening_ than my former Padawan." He ignored the groan from Anakin and the snort from Eelia. "What about you yourself? Anything you can say about that?"

Ahsoka herself had managed to avoid more than a smirk at her master's expense. "Well, he told me earlier that he was a ward of the state and grew up in some sort of group home."

I nodded. "Yeah. Like I told her, the people who ran it were nice, but there were a number of rules they insisted that everyone follow. Aside from the tech and the whole Jedi Code, the rules on keeping your room clean and wake-up times were basically the same there as they are here."

"Well, that explains why you and Ahsoka managed to be on time. You could learn something from him, Anakin."

The Chosen One rolled his eyes. "Okay, that's it. Time for some embarrassing stories about all the times where the great Obi-Wan Kenobi got in over his head and his brave former apprentice had to bail him out..."

* * *

Anakin, Celu and Obi-Wan watched as Kevin and Ahsoka traveled back to the dormitories. The rest of the day in training went much the same was as the first half; by the time it was over, Kevin had surprised all three of them more than once.

 **-"He really does have a close connection with the Force. His ability to feel and control it already approaches the padawan level."-**

"Indeed, Celu." Kenobi replied, stroking his beard. "I pray he'll be easier on whoever chooses him than—"

"Than me? Alright, Obi-Wan, something's up. Your ratio of Skywalker jokes has definitely increased beyond the norm today."

The Jedi Master chuckled nervously. "Really?"

 **-"I noticed that, too,"-** Celu raised an eyeridge. **-"And I don't need to read minds to know what that means."-**

Both Kenobi and Skywalker looked to the Klatoonian Jedi. **-"Almost all of your remarks had to do specifically with Anakin's apprenticeship under you, Master Kenobi. It's not hard to see why."-**

* * *

 _ **I tried to use as many canon Huttese terms as I could, but there just isn't enough out there for full conversations most of the time, so I had to make up a word and guess at the meaning of a couple of others that didn't have specific translations. And no, Kevin's lack of parents won't be a plot point. Just throwing that out there. Next chapter, plot time!**_


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** **_I'd like to clear something up here, as someone recently pointed out that the last chapter may have made Kevin come across as a bit OP. Essentially, Kevin has about the same amount of power as Obi-Wan—nothing to sneeze at, as Obi-Wan is one of the more powerful Jedi of his day. But that being said, Obi-Wan is INSANELY outclassed by several people, including Dooku, Yoda, Mace Windu, Anakin, and Palpatine. Kevin will never be as powerful as those guys. His primary gift—the thing that really makes him unique and special—is his affinity for sense powers, an aspect of the Force that I have always thought to be unfairly overlooked in favor of more obvious uses such as telekinesis. It will also play an essential role in the plot. You also won't need to worry about Kevin practically becoming the center of the universe—he'll do some cool things, but the canon characters will drive a lot of the story as well._**

 _ **TL;DR, don't worry about Kevin becoming an overpowered Sue.**_

 _ **Disney owns Star Wars, and will soon rule the world. I, for one, welcome our new mouse overlords.**_

* * *

After that first day of training, time seemed to pass by rather quickly. I would wake up, have a small breakfast, go to the training areas, break for lunch, read up on galactic history, politics, and Jedi lore, return to training, then eat dinner and go to bed. By the end of the first week alone, I was (through telepathy training with Master Eelia) fluent enough in Huttese to carry on casual conversation, and had increased my ability to sense others within the Force in both scope and control. Thanks to that, I no longer had to worry about the constant buzz in my head from the information overload, which was a blessing all its own. I also made strides in telekinesis (though nothing too much bigger than your average furniture, or several heavy pots, if I really concentrated), as well as augmenting my physical abilities through the Force in the form of superhuman speed and acrobatics. Again, though, nothing on the level of a full-fledged Knight. Finally, I had started work on basic combat techniques, including hand-to-hand and lightsaber combat. On that last note, I was still using a training saber, and had only learned the first form, Shii-Cho. But that would change when I constructed my first lightsaber.

Most of the time, my training primarily involved Master Eelia helping me focus on my Force sense and general control of the Force in other ways, with Obi-Wan occasionally stepping in to give me instruction in combat—something that was becoming increasingly frequent. Finally after roughly three and a half months, it was time to forge my first lightsaber, a task which required exceptional control to correctly achieve the absolutely precise-to-the-nearest-fraction-of-a-nanometer alignment of the crystals. Master Eelia stood behind me as I sat cross-legged at a lightsaber forge, the pieces scattered on the altar in front of me.

 **-"Focus carefully, young Kevin. This is your final trial before becoming a Padawan."-**

No pressure. To say I was nervous was a massive understatement. "What if I get it wrong? The idea of a minor explosion when I turn it on isn't appealing..."

 **-"Clear all doubt from your mind; that is the only limit keeping you from success here. Remember, sensory powers also translate well into granting the very kind of precision required for constructing a lightsaber, and your power in that regard is already considerable. You have what you need in front of you; all that is left is to succeed."-**

" _Try not—do, or do not. There is no try."_ The words of Yoda in the films immediately came to me. Before I fell through the portal, that phrase always bugged me; on the surface, it just didn't seem to make much sense. After all, "trying" is putting an effort into something. How can you do something without trying? And furthermore, that first part seems rather like wishful thinking. Sometimes, you're just going to fail no matter what, even if you really believe. But through my training, and with those words from Master Eelia, I realized I simply misunderstood the meaning of those words.

"Do, or do not" isn't referring to success or failure. It's commitment to action rather than simply contemplating the action. You can either act, or just sit there. There is no in between. "There is no try" isn't just about positive thinking, either; it's also about taking conscious thought out of what should be unconscious action. After all, when you're breathing, you're not TRYING to breathe, you're just breathing. By the same token, sometimes thinking about an action can distract you from what you need to do when acting on instinct will serve you better. But most of all, it involves something that didn't exist back on Earth, a factor that truly makes the saying work: the Force.

It's always there. You just have to listen and trust it, and let it guide you.

I closed my eyes, taking slow, deep breaths and entering a meditative state. I reached out, feeling the crystals with the force, lifting them up in preparation for the tricky part, the alignment. With the naked eye and bare hands, hell, even with a microscope and robotic arms, the task would be impossible to accomplish due to the sheer precision necessary. But the mind's eye can focus in ways nothing else can, zooming in and focusing with perfect clarity. And with the Force guiding my telekinesis, there was no danger of misalignment. Holding the crystals in place, I lifted the rest of the pieces and let the lightsaber slowly put itself together around them. Finally, the task was complete; all that remained was to switch it on. I called it into my hand, feeling the hilt fall perfectly into my grasp, and with a deep breath, activated it.

The result was bright green glow, accompanied by an iconic sound.

* * *

"Ah, Anakin! It's good to see you again, sonny."

"Likewise, Chancellor. It's been too long since we last spoke outside of official business."

Palpatine rose from his desk to greet the Chosen One, a grandfatherly smile on his face. He had been cultivating a casual relationship with Anakin over the years, becoming almost a surrogate father to the young man. Little did the Jedi know that their relationship was in fact one of cruel manipulation and subtle emotional abuse, both of which Palpatine took immense pleasure in using against him.

 _Such weak sentiment,_ the hidden Sith Lord thought. _That pathetic trust shall be the first thing I will crush out of him._

Sadism aside, however, there was another motive for this particular conversation; as Darth Sidious, he knew of Kevin, and needed to meet the boy to assess whether or not he was a threat, and to unravel whatever secrets he possessed. But as Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, he had no way of knowing about something the Jedi had kept secret as best they could, and asking to meet Kevin without "finding out" would raise suspicion. Thankfully, Skywalker was easily lead.

"So, my young friend, what news from the Order?"

Anakin frowned. "The war isn't making things easy. Things have gone better since we finally took Geonosis for good, but we're still losing Jedi in battle."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Palpatine said, his tone and expression a perfect imitation of sympathetic grief. "This war has taken a toll on all of us; the thought of the Order slowly shrinking to nothing is frightening indeed." In fact, the thought sent a shiver of pleasure up his spine.

"Yes, but thankfully, we still have many promising young initiates."

 _There! An opening!_ "I see. I assume you are referring to your own Padawan?"

"Yes, but she isn't the only one with promise."

"Oh? I sense you speak of someone in particular."

"Well..." Anakin paused slightly. "it's kind of Jedi business."

 _Easily countered with reverse psychology._ "Oh," Palpatine frowned, a slight amount of hurt in his voice designed to engender guilt in Skywalker. "In that case, I apologize. I didn't mean to pry..."

The Jedi fell for it completely, holding up his hands. "No, it's fine! There isn't really any rule against telling you something about him, I suppose..."

Within a few minutes, the young Jedi had divulged all but the boy's origins involving the portal, including his surprising level of sensitivity to the Force and the fact that he was on the cusp of being made a Padawan.

"He sounds like a fascinating young man! I would very much like to meet him in person..."

"Well, if I'm right about who's planning to take him on, I'm sure you'll get the opportunity soon enough!"

The two shared a laugh, but only one truly meant it.

* * *

Ordinarily, an initiate who had completed their trials would participate in a ceremony alongside a large number of their peers, while various Jedi Knights and Masters went and offered apprenticeships to those they sought. My case, however, was unique, both due to my age and the events that brought me into the Order. As such, I found myself not in a ceremonial room surrounded by fellow initiates, but standing before the Jedi Council once again, feeling their gaze on me.

"Passed your trials quickly, you have. Much promise in you, this Council sees."

Windu nodded. "Indeed. But we are not the only ones interested in your progress; more than a few Knights of the Order have expressed their approval of your abilities. There are even those who are considering asking you to be their Padawan already."

Again, no pressure. "Um... may I ask who they are?"

"Indeed you may," Plo Koon said. "The ones we have given our approval to are Knights Kolo M'Dora, Alain Vienn, and Aayla Secura."

I considered the names; only Aayla was familiar. "Do I have to decide right now?"

Windu shook his head. "No, you do not. Nor do we expect you to. This is a decision that will affect the rest of your life, and not one to be taken lightly. You may return to your dormitory to think it over."

With that, I was dismissed, and I decided to take that advice. I sat for a long time in my room, looking over the dossiers on the Knights in question, and the decision wasn't easy at all. A knock on my door startled me out of my thinking; for a moment, I considered asking them to leave me alone to think, but then I figured that some advice could help me make my choice. "It's okay, you can come in."

Obi-Wan Kenobi walked into my room and looked at the dossiers in front of me. "I heard you completed your trials with flying colors, but I didn't realize there were already offers for you. Have you made a decision yet?"

"No, not yet," I said, shaking my head. "To be honest, as flattered as I am that they're even considering me, none of them really stand out from the others."

Kenobi sighed in what almost seemed like relief. "Well then, I'm afraid I may be about to make your decision even more difficult."

I looked up at him. "How so?"

The Jedi Master smiled. "By adding another offer to the table."

I paused, hardly believing what I had just heard. This was Obi-Wan-Freaking-Kenobi, the Jedi-est Jedi ever to Jedi. And he was offering to take me as his SECOND Padawan. No pressure whatsoever.

"Wait, why? Is it my sensitivity?"

"No, it's not just that..." He stroked his beard thoughtfully. "You see, ever since you came here, I sensed something about you. A feeling of... intent, of design. When I first met Anakin, I felt the same thing, but I chalked it down to coincidence back then. But as I eventually found out, there is no such thing as coincidence. Now I know that feeling was, in fact, the will of the Force; our paths were meant to cross, Kevin. I am certain of it. Search your feelings, and I'm sure you'll realize it as well."

I searched the Force for guidance; the result was a feeling of confirmation. There was no doubt.

"I accept, Master Obi-Wan."

* * *

At the end of that day, I received my padawan braid; Ahsoka, Anakin, Master(!) Obi-Wan, and Master Eelia decided to celebrate my "graduation" with a visit to Dex's Diner. To be honest, I always thought that scene in the movies was out-of-place and kind of stupid, but being there in person made it harder to criticize. The fact that the food, while still somewhat alien, was much closer to what I had on Earth helped as well: simple, greasy, and absolutely delicious. But the celebration didn't end there; Obi-Wan and Anakin told me they had one last surprise for me, and we soon found ourselves traveling to the Senate building.

I briefly wondered what was there that counted as part of the celebration; when I asked, the only answer I got was, "It's a surprise." After landing our speeder in a super-fancy transport hangar, walking through halls of unparalleled opulence, a long elevator ride with a magnificent windowed view of the Senate District, and the opening of an elaborately-decorated door, I realized that they were, in fact, only half-right. It wasn't a surprise; it was the most terrifying day of my life. Because the door opened, revealing no less than the personal office of the Supreme Chancellor, with one of the single most horrifyingly evil villains in the history of fiction standing from behind his desk, a deceptive grin on his face.

Have you ever seen evil up close? And I don't mean just a general bad guy or situation, I don't mean seeing atrocities in the news, I mean actual, real evil? Because if not, I wish I were still so innocent. When you look true evil right in the eye, there is a terrible coldness that overtakes you. You feel like a helpless rabbit cornered by a snarling wolf, his teeth inches from your throat. Your heart beats in terror and you feel dirty, just absolutely _filthy_ being close to the source of the blackness, as if all the blood on the THING'S hand would wash over you and stain you red forever.

That description, that feeling? Was nothing compared to seeing that monster smile warmly at me. I counted myself extremely lucky that my training kept me from revealing how utterly terrified I was... or so I thought. Pleasantries were exchanged, oblivious to the threat, then came my turn to shake hands with the abomination. _IT_ took my hand, looked me in the eye, and it was in that moment that I felt greater terror than I can even truly describe, which only increased when I heard its Sidious voice in my head.

 _ **You are an open book to me, wretch. You know who I am, don't you?**_

I couldn't reply without giving away that which the Force did not want me to reveal to the heroes.

 _ **Pathetic child. Your power is nothing compared to the Dark Side. Right here, right now, I could kill all of you, and it would be EASY. But that would only disrupt the web I have woven. So I will simply give you a warning.**_

 _ **Disrupt my plans in any way, and you will SUFFER. You will watch, helpless, as I slowly destroy everything you love and cherish, and when you at last have no tears left to shed, no one left to grieve, you will be subjected to pain beyond imagination, and not long after that you will be begging me to end your miserable existence. Do I make myself clear, whelp?**_

It did. There was no doubt; this _thing_ could easily follow through on its promise. That handshake only lasted a couple of seconds, but to me it seemed a horrifying eternity. Once it was done, I asked to be excused to use the restroom, a request that was granted. Once inside, I sat on the floor, held my knees close to my body, and wept quietly in terror, shivering with dread. Slowly, I came back to myself, and hid my feelings as best I could; thankfully, neither Anakin nor Master Obi-Wan sensed my fear, and it was soon time to leave that profane chamber. As we traveled back to the temple, I wondered: if this creature was so dangerous that facing it would be my death, why did the Force bother bringing me here? For the first time, the Force was silent on the matter.

* * *

 _ **Call me insane, but that last scene was actually a lot of fun to write. Casual first-person dialogue style aside, I tried to get a semi-lovecraftian vibe going for Palpatine. How'd I do?**_

 _ **EDIT: Changed the length of time mentioned at the beginning because a month and a half of training is way too short, among other reasons I can't go into.**_


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** **_This is being written as part of a 20-minute creative sprint with the amazing and beautiful Lauren the Flute. Check her out on Twitch and YouTube if you get the chance!_**

 _ **The Empire of Disney owns Star Wars. And yes, their planet-destroying superweapon will have mouse ears like everything else.**_

* * *

After the incident with Palpatine, I couldn't take my mind off of his threat. One thing I still knew for certain: Neither me, nor any other Jedi outside the Council (and not even a number of them, considering Episode III) were any match for the monster. Not to mention, Darth Sidious was working with a plan spanning a millennium, and was a master strategist who generally set everything up so that all possible outcomes benefited him. The Sith Lord was never without an answer for a situation he could see, and I was no exception. The fact that he merely threatened me meant that I was either not a threat to his plans for the moment, or that he was already laying the foundations for removing me from the equation. Neither outcome was very reassuring.

Thankfully, meditation on the matter made things clearer; through my unusually strong mental connection to the Force, I could sense that such a confrontation wasn't in the cards for me anyway, at least for the time being. Besides, there were still two years between me and the Jedi Purge and the fall of the Republic—whether or not I could affect things now didn't mean I could later on. In the end, I decided to let things progress as-is until some opportunity revealed itself—or, as I called it, the Obi-Wan Soresu approach. Fortunately, I now had that very Jedi as a Master.

The morning after involved the beginnings of my instruction in Form III, Soresu, Master Obi-Wan's specialty. Unfortunately, the instruction was interrupted before we could get past the basic foundations, courtesy of a visit from Mace Windu.

"Master Windu," Obi-Wan bowed his head, a movement mirrored by me. "What seems to be the problem?"

"The Council has an important assignment for you," The legendary Jedi frowned (well, more than usual) before revealing a holo of a man in Mandalorian armor fighting Republic troopers. "A republic cruiser was attacked by unknown assailants—Mandalorian assailants. Only one survived, but he committed suicide before he could be captured."

I immediately recognized where this was going. The Mandalore plot, AKA "Obi-Wan and Duchess Satine bicker like an old married couple for two episodes straight".

My new Master paused at the mention of Mandalore, for obvious reasons. "Wait, I thought Duchess Satine was insistent on neutrality? After all, she is the leader of the Council of Neutral Systems."

Windu said as he deactivated the holo and handed it over to Master Obi-Wan. "That was our belief as well. But some unsavory rumors have been floating around Mandalore in general; specifically, that they are about to break off and support the Separatists. We need you to go to Mandalore and investigate."

Kenobi winced ever so slightly. "Are you certain I am most suited to this mission?"

Windu nodded. "Out of all the Jedi, you are most familiar with the Duchess; that may make her more willing to cooperate with your investigation."

After a brief pause, Master Obi-Wan finally gave in and turned to me. "Well, it looks like your first outing as a padawan has arrived already, Kevin. Force willing, it won't involve much more than awkward conversation."

The Force still wouldn't let me say anything about the future to him, but I knew that last sentence to be both a jinx and an absolutely massive understatement.

* * *

I only vaguely recalled what Mandalore actually looked like in the Clone Wars series, but our arrival on the planet was more than enough of a reminder. MUCH more, in fact—the show just didn't do it justice. Upon reaching the Palace, it got even more magnificent—nearly every room had heavily ornamented floor-to-ceiling windows, with as few retaining walls as necessary, resulting in breathtaking natural light everywhere.

"General Kenobi." An older man stepped into the room to greet us, nodding his head at Master Obi-Wan, who walked forward to shake hands with the man.

"Thank you for meeting us, Prime Minister Almec. This is my padawan, Kevin Caller; he will be accompanying me during our stay."

Almec shook my hand as well before turning back to Kenobi and gesturing us to follow him. "I welcome you as servants of the people, but I am troubled by the false rumors that brought you here. Mandalore would never turn against the Republic; the Duchess Satine values peace more than her own life."

Master Obi-Wan replied in a tone that contained a slight amount of bitterness to it. "Oh, I'm aware of the Duchess' views—"

"Master Kenobi, Mandalore's violent past is behind us. All of our warriors were exiled to our moon, Concordia; they died out years ago."

"Hm. Are you certain?" Kenobi stroked his beard. "I recently encountered a man who wore Mandalorian armor, Jango Fett."

Almec responded with an offended huff. "Jango Fett was a common bounty hunter! How he acquired that armor is beyond me—"

"Well, Master Kenobi, my _shining_ Jedi Knight come to the rescue once again."

All eyes turned to none other than my Master's ex, Duchess Satine, who walked stoically to her throne and sat down, the throne lighting up as she did so.

Master Obi-Wan tried his best to sound professional. He failed miserably. "After all these years, Duchess, you're even more beautiful than ever."

"Kind words from a man who accuses me of treachery..."

I had heard all of this before in the episode; I felt practically forgotten here, and for good reason—once these two got started, few people outside of their conversation were ever able to get a word in. Needless to say, I tuned most of it out, trying to consider how I might be of use here aside from being little more than the third wheel for the first act and trying to avoid dying in the second. Once the Duchess asked to walk with Master Obi-Wan, though, some subtle changes seemed to occur. For example, the two seemed conscious of my presence, and thus didn't hold hands as they left... and made sure to walk on either side of ME. Yeah, that had _nothing_ to do with their issues with each other.

As we walked, Satine resumed following canon. "It's so good to see you again, Obi-Wan, despite the circumstances."

I noticed that she dropped the formal title and went with the first-name basis; out of sheer boredom with canon, I decided to wait for a lull in the conversation to ask Master Obi-Wan about it and see how he reacted. Kenobi resumed the conversation from the show.

"Your peaceful ways have paid off; Mandalore has prospered since the last time I was here."

"Not everyone on Mandalore believes that our commitment to peace is a sign of progress," the Duchess replied. "There is a group that calls itself Death Watch; I imagine these are the renegades you're looking for. They idolize violence and the warrior ways of the past. There are those of us, certain officials, who are working to root out these criminals; it has been an ongoing investigation."

Once again, Master Obi-Wan stroked his beard in thought. "How widespread is this Death Watch movement?"

"It's hardly a movement! It's a small group of hooligans who choose to vandalize public places, nothing more! We shall soon have them in custody; we have tracked them down to our moon, Concordia."

"I hope you're right, Duchess..." my Master responded skeptically.

He paused for a moment as she moved ahead a bit. This was my opportunity. "Um... Master Obi-Wan?"

"Yes?"

"What exactly happened the last time you were here?"

He raised an eyebrow at me. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I just noticed, she didn't refer to you as 'General Kenobi' or 'Master Kenobi'. In fact, she seemed kind of familiar with you."

"Well... it's not exactly relevant to this situation, young padawan," he replied, blushing in embarrassment. "Our relationship is strictly professional."

I smirked. "I didn't say it wasn't, Master."

He rolled his eyes and sighed dejectedly. "I think you may have spent too much time with Anakin."

"Sorry, Master. I shouldn't have pried." I decided to back off a bit; no sense in irritating him too much on our first assignment together.

"Well, at least you realize and admit your mistake. That's definitely an improvement over him."

Normally, he'd combine a comment like that with a smirk or a quiet chuckle; instead, he looked after Satine with a distant expression. I wondered if I changed something; I didn't have long to find out. We caught up to her shortly after, but instead of continuing the conversation and briefly bickering over philosophy, they remained silent. Suddenly, my Force sense went off like a fire alarm—and I knew exactly what it meant.

An explosion rocked the area, taking everyone else off-guard aside from myself and Obi-Wan, who reflexively moved to shield her just as the blast occurred. As they looked to attend to the wounded civilians and notice the Death Watch calling-card in the form of a holo, I backed off slightly in the direction of the crowd where I knew the bomber to be, stopping just close enough to be able to use a force-assisted leap over his head to stop him from escaping once he bolted and pretending to look around in shock.

Master Obi-Wan helped Satine to her feet. "I want to interview everyone here; nobody leaves this scene!"

Just as Kenobi finished his sentence, my target attempted to run; I acted, leaping in a backflip clear over the man's head and landing right in his path, activating my lightsaber as I did so. "Going somewhere?"

The culprit turned in the opposite direction... right into Master Obi-Wan, who quickly grabbed his arm at the bicep and wrist, twisting his hips and pulling down as he shifted his weight. The result was the culprit landing hard on his back, staring up at Kenobi as the latter placed a foot on his chest, pinning him down.

"Good work, young padawan! As for him," he said, looking down at the bomber, "I think I know where we should start the interview. Sorry about the rough handling, but I would like to ask you a few questions."

The man's response came in the form of a few words in Mandalorian that didn't exactly need translation. Still, I remembered that the Duchess didn't exactly translate the bomber's last words in the show immediately, so I decided to be useful again.

"Master, can I test to see how far my sense abilities have come?"

He nodded. "You may."

I knelt at the bomber's side, then closed my eyes and reached out with my mind. Not long into my training, I had enough skill in telepathy that I could learn to speak rather fluently at a rapid rate through regular contact, but that particular skill stopped being practiced once I had learned all the Huttese I could. That said, I practiced the other applications of telepathy as much as I could. Fortunately, that extra practice paid off.

"Master, his memories are guarded really well, but I managed to learn Mandalorian from him."

Master Obi-Wan decided to take advantage of the mental pressure my power put on him, adding a little more as he began asking questions while I translated. "Now, I would much prefer that this NOT be an interrogation, but an interview. I can't promise I will let you go—that decision will be up to the local authorities—but I can promise that, should you cooperate, I might put in a good word. So, to begin with, would you kindly tell us your name?"

The man seemed to struggle a bit under the mild mental pressure before finally giving in. **-"Sael Osool..."-**

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Sael. I am Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, and this is my padawan, Kevin Caller. You are already familiar with Duchess Satine, I presume?"

A few more moments passed before Osool responded. **-"Yes. She was..."-**

"She was what?" Master Obi-Wan asked pointedly.

 **-"I can't. I can't betray the cause."-**

I jumped in, seeing an opportunity. "You know, I read up on the old Mandalorians. Your whole 'cause' is about trying to bring that back, right? 'The way of the warrior'. Is bombing a memorial shrine and fleeing the scene something the Mandalorians of the past would have done? Sounds less like the ruthless but honorable warriors and more like common terrorists to me."

"An excellent point, padawan. Sael, you clearly believe in honor in some form; otherwise, you wouldn't be so intent on protecting your cause. That in itself is admirable. But you must ask yourself: if this is the manner in which your cause conducts itself, is it truly a worthy one?"

Sael frowned for a few moments, initially angered by our words, before a resigned expression came over his face. "You're right," he said, dropping the Mandalorian and speaking Basic, "I have shamed myself as a warrior. I thought that Death Watch embodied those old ways; they wore the armor, they practiced the rituals... but you're right. Our ancestors would have sought battle, not subterfuge."

Master Obi-Wan nodded, smiling warmly as he removed his foot and helped the man to his feet. "I'm glad you are willing to listen to reason, Mr. Osool. In that case, it seems Death Watch is giving your ancestors a bad name; perhaps you might consider helping us to stop them?"

Osool nodded. "I shall. And in the process, I might regain a small fraction of my honor. As for your earlier question, Duchess Satine was the target here, not the shrine itself. Also..."

He turned to face the Duchess. "I heard your earlier comment about us... no, about Death Watch being nothing more than vandals. I'm afraid you're wrong; they are a fully-fledged insurgency based off of Concordia. The leader himself sent me here."

"Who is this leader?" Satine frowned sympathetically. "I echo Master Kenobi's promise; if you help us, I will try to lessen your sentence as best I can."

Osool shook his head. "I'm afraid I don't know the answer to that. He kept a helmet on at all times. That said, I think he's someone in your government; he seemed to know a lot about that kind of thing, more than just your average soldier would. In fact, the way he talked about you implied that he knew you personally."

"Well, Satine," Master Obi-Wan said, "It appears that you have a traitor in your government. Perhaps even working with the Separatists—"

"Absolutely not! Don't try to use this as an excuse to pull Mandalore into your conflict, _General_!"

"If the Separatists ARE involved, _Duchess_ , they may not give you a choice in the matter!"

"Since when did the Jedi become soldiers instead of peacekeepers?"

I decided to interject. "Um, Master? Duchess?"

"What?" both shouted in unison.

"Maybe we should continue that argument some other time. There's a terrorist group we have to stop and a traitor we need to expose; if we do that, we might find out whether or not they had outside help, and then we can decide where to go from there."

They looked at each other for a few moments in silence before sighing. "Well, my padawan is right. Forgive my rudeness, Satine."

"Apology accepted... Obi-Wan. We should make preparations to visit Concordia."

Master Obi-wan raised an eyebrow. "'We', Satine? It will be dangerous..."

"And if so, I will have my Knight to protect me." Satine gave a playful smile in return as she walked away.

I couldn't help letting a comment slip out. "Yup. Strictly a professional relationship."

"Definitely too much time with Anakin..."

* * *

"Supreme Chancellor? I did not expect a call from you so soon. I thought that you found my report on the hyperdrive test to be satisfactory—"

"Rest assured, Lieutenant Commander, I did not call to criticize; in fact, I have a rather unusual request to make of you."

Orson Krennic tilted his head at the holocall projector, slightly confused. "What would you ask of me?"

A rather disturbing smile—one that sent shivers down the man's spine every time he saw it—crossed Palpatine's face. "I would like you to attempt to replicate the incident as closely as possible, then analyze the resulting effect on space-time distortion. We may have a use for it."

* * *

 _ **Yeah, the canon derailment seems pretty subtle for now. Rest assured, though, that the process of jumping off will be gradual, and by the climax of this fic, it's going to go WAY off the tracks. Just be patient, the REAL plot will come soon enough...**_


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** **_Disney owns Star Wars. Obey the Mouse. Love the Mouse. Do not defy the Mouse._**

* * *

After we finished speaking to Osool (with the understanding that his sentence was to be much lighter due to his cooperation, as per Master Obi-Wan's promise), we boarded a shuttle to Concordia, one of Mandalore's two moons. This was only the second time I had ever been in space, and the novelty had yet to wear off; part of that was the knowledge that a few feet of metal and glass was all that separated us from _nothing_ , but the rest was due to yet another aspect of being Force-sensitive that people generally never think about: when there's so much nothing around you, the living Force stands out all the more for it, and for anyone like me with extremely advanced sensitivity, certain things become clearer than they would on a planet filled with living beings.

In general, when you look at a Force-sensitive, you can feel the Force moving around and through them in a different way than it does through ordinary people; with the latter, it "passes through" them, and they do generate it to some degree, but its flow seems much more passive, like the Force is just on its way somewhere and they're in the path. On the other hand, when looking at someone who's Force-sensitive, it lingers around them, shifting in its currents and swirling around the person in direct proportion to how strong they are in the Force; the more powerful the sensitive, the greater the presence of the Force around them. In the case of particularly powerful wielders, the effect is really quite dramatic; for example, Master Obi-Wan was practically a massive shining beacon of pure light. And no, that's not just me waxing poetic. When I described him as the Jedi-est Jedi ever to Jedi, I meant that in every way; everything about his aura practically screamed, "this is the biggest boy scout in the galaxy".

I mention all of this because, while the novelty of space hadn't worn off, it had lessened just enough for me to notice another thing about Master Obi-Wan in addition to this: occasionally, his aura would get a little bit brighter or a little bit dimmer, particularly when talking to Satine. I decided to keep that in mind as we approached Concordia in Satine's shuttle; once again, the show didn't do the planet justice.

"Wow... it's actually really beautiful." I gazed in wonder at the moon as I took it in through the front window.

Satine responded with a slight frown. "Long ago, it used to be even more so. Before the end of our wars, they turned it into a mining base. The sheer number of mining facilities here nearly destroyed our forests; they're finally growing back. That alone is a reason for us to avoid war; though Concordia never saw battle, conflict nearly destroyed its natural beauty all the same." She sighed briefly before continuing. "War touches everything, no matter how well-defended or removed it is. The only true way to protect anything is through peace, not violence."

I almost expected Master Obi-Wan to retort; instead, he kept silent, his presence shimmering a bit as he did so.

After a few minutes of flying over deserts, jungles, and shrublands, we arrived at a large villa, landing in the hangar where no less than the villain of the Mandalore arc awaited us in his civilian guise, accompanied by two bodyguards in heavy armor.

"Duchess Satine, you are most welcome!"

Satine nodded at the man in return. "Thank you, Governor Vizsla. May I present Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, representing the Jedi Council, and his Padawan, Kevin Caller." She turned to look at us as the enemy in disguise nodded politely. "Governor Pre Vizsla is one of the officials I spoke of; he has been working to find the members of the Death Watch."

I knew an opportunity to change canon when I saw one; fortunately, this time, the Force did not seem to give me the "bad idea" feeling, but I got the sense that subtlety was still the way to go all the same.

"I take it you've heard the rumors about Satine, about how she's supposedly leading Mandalore into an alliance with the Separatists." said Vizsla, his tone almost convincing in its false sympathy.

That being said, Master Obi-Wan was no stranger to having a good poker face, responding with an equally convincing 'I totally trust everything you say' act. "My only instructions were to seek the truth, Governor. Hopefully, we may locate the Death Watch and dispel these rumors before events deteriorate further."

"Indeed," Vizsla replied, continuing the poker game. "In the meantime, you are surely tired after your journey and the incident at the memorial shrine; I would like to extend an invitation to dinner to all of you, to grant you some respite before we begin our work. In the meantime, I have preparations of my own to consider. It is an honor to meet you, Master Kenobi."

"The honor, I'm sure, is all mine, Governor Vizsla. I look forward to your generous invitation."

Once Vizsla was out of earshot, I decided to pre-empt Master Obi-Wan's canon conversation. "Master Obi-Wan, there's something off about that guy. I can feel it."

"I know, young padawan. I sensed it as well. The governor is definitely hiding something."

Satine raised an eyebrow at us. "What exactly are you implying, General?"

"Osool suggested that the leader of Death Watch was someone in a powerful position of authority, and also confirmed your suspicions that the organization is based off of Concordia," he said, stroking his beard. "Who would be better placed to disrupt investigations into their activities than the one assigned to lead the investigations?"

The Duchess started to respond with offense, but stopped short, realizing the logic behind Master Obi-Wan's deduction. "I... see. What do you propose, Obi-Wan?"

"That we take the Governor up on his offer. While normally I would prefer to directly investigate the mining facilities on this planet—they are exactly the sort of place well-suited to concealing operations such as Death Watch—we already know enough from Osool to have a clear suspect, and young Caller here is quite advanced in his sensory abilities, even rivaling my own. This dinner invitation would be a perfect opportunity to see whether or not Vizsla is behind all of this, and perhaps we may even uncover the full truth behind this conspiracy."

Satine frowned in response. "The thought that he might be the leader of Death Watch is... troubling. I have placed a great deal of trust in all of my officials; to think that my trust is misplaced—"

"Satine." Master Obi-Wan looked her right in the eyes, his voice calm and reassuring. "Do not blame yourself. For as long as I have known you, in spite of my disagreements with your views on neutrality, I have always felt that your ability to trust in your people has been one of your best qualities; if Vizsla is indeed taking advantage of that trust, the fault lies with him, not with you."

I didn't say anything, but at that moment, the Light side of the Force around him shined a bit brighter.

* * *

The Duchess, the Jedi, and his padawan had left, along with all the others; finally, he was alone in the empty hangar. He still wasn't entirely sure how the Jedi had failed to notice that he had slipped aboard their shuttle. It didn't matter; he had an important job to do, and if things went wrong—which he fully expected, considering who the enemy was—it would be up to him to spring the trap. He was not sure whether or not he would survive, either... but he had sworn to uphold the honor of the old ways, and a death in battle was a death he looked forward to.

Creeping out of his hiding place, the warrior gave one last, silent prayer:

 _Ancestors guide me, for I may soon go to glory._

* * *

Master Obi-Wan decided to use the time until the dinner to give me further instruction in the intricacies of Form III lightsaber combat. My initial training at the Jedi Temple gave me a good foundation to build upon, and Soresu's focus on defense and efficient movement meant that the basic techniques were relatively easy to grasp. That said, we didn't have much time in which to practice, and I still had a long way to go before I was ready to face another lightsaber wielder. For the moment, my skill in blast deflection was progressing well enough thanks to my enhanced sensitivity to the Force granting me faster reaction time and decent battle precognition.

Before long, it was time to attend the dinner; a guard led Master Obi-Wan, Satine, and myself to a relatively small yet still mildly extravagant dining chamber, with traditional Mandalorian cuisine on the table. Master Obi-Wan and I were initially hesitant to eat, but fortunately the Force didn't give us any alarm bells.

"Thank you again for accepting my invitation; I don't often have guests of your stature, Master Jedi. My work has kept me far too busy as of late." Vizsla was still the picture of decency and hospitality; had I not known in advance (and not had the Force), I probably would have bought the act myself.

I didn't trust myself to talk without giving away our suspicion, but thankfully there were two excellent speakers on my side.

"Think nothing of it, Governor Vizsla," Master Obi-Wan said. "I understand entirely. With enemies such as the Death Watch and the Separatists, vigilance is more important than ever in our respective roles."

Satine spoke next, proving with a warm smile that her own poker face was every bit Kenobi's equal. "Please, General Kenobi, let us enjoy this brief moment of respite from talk of business. While I have my own concerns I would like to address, I do not wish to ruin the Governor's kind gesture."

Vizsla chuckled softly. "Do not worry, Duchess. I don't mind. Besides, business is why we are here, isn't it? I would like to hear your concerns; perhaps I may even lay some of them to rest."

She sighed, giving a convincing performance of mild relief and resignation. "Very well, then. I suppose if you have no problem with it, we may as well discuss the issue." Pausing to take a sip of her wine for effect, she continued. "Someone is feeding misinformation directly to the Republic Senate, saying that the Death Watch is taking over Mandalore. Who stands to gain from these lies?"

"Death Watch, of course." Vizsla replied, without any hesitation.

"They could not engineer all of this. The problem has clearly grown much larger than we thought," Satine frowned worriedly. "And I suspect some external force helped it along."

Vizsla shook his head. "Hard to believe. It would have to be someone at the highest level of influence among the Separatists."

"Perhaps even Dooku himself," Master Obi-Wan interjected. "Plots and schemes are practically his specialty. I would not be surprised if he himself were the founder of Death Watch."

For half a second, I sensed a bit of dismay from Vizsla; Master Obi-Wan almost certainly felt it as well. The governor recovered quickly, however. "I would not necessarily go that far, Master Jedi. Death Watch wraps itself too well in the old ways to be a false movement; its members would not be so willing to sacrifice themselves for their cause were it not genuine."

Satine continued feigning worry and confusion. "But why target me?"

"You lead the Council of Neutral Systems; thus, you threaten the Separatists' goals." Vizsla calmly sipped his wine. "Take it as a compliment! Someone very powerful is working towards your downfall."

A brief pause occurred as we continued eating. The silence was eventually broken once more by Master Obi-Wan. "Forgive me for prying, Governor, but perhaps you might share your own experience with the Death Watch? I'm sure someone of your capabilities has at least learned something of use."

"I'm afraid not. The jungles of Concordia may not have finished growing back, but there's still plenty of places for them to hide there."

"The jungles, you say? That's an interesting theory," Master Obi-Wan replied. "but wouldn't it make more sense for them to use the abandoned mining facilities? Not only would they provide far more cover against discovery, the refinement facilities could easily be repurposed for forging weapons and armor."

I felt a bit of concern from Vizsla; clearly, Master Obi-Wan had created an opening. I decided to exploit it a bit.

"But Master, if they're a fanatic group like the Governor suggested, maybe they're not thinking that clearly. After all, so far they've only managed to vandalize a few monuments and fail to kill Satine. That doesn't seem like a very competent group to me, no matter how well-backed they are."

"I think you might be underestimating them a bit too much." Vizsla said, a light chuckle just barely managing to hide a crack in his facade.

 _It's him,_ I spoke to Master Obi-Wan through telepathy. _He's definitely our guy._

 _I agree, young padawan. We've obviously struck a nerve._

 _What do we do, then?_

 _Patience, Kevin. Let us see what he does for now._

As Vizsla continued, I sensed tension coming off of him. "Death Watch have proven themselves a crafty bunch. You never know when or where they might _strike._ "

All of a sudden, I got a massive vibe of "holy crap get your lightsaber out or you're dead meat". No sooner had Vizsla said that last word than the doors burst open, several enemies in Mandalorian armor entering with rifles aimed in our direction. Master Obi-Wan and I managed to activate our lightsabers and get into a defensive posture, but before we could do anything Vizsla had rushed to Satine's side and roughly grabbed her from behind, activating a concealed dark saber and holding it against her throat.

"I have to say, I'm impressed with your intuition, Kenobi. And here I thought I was fooling you for a moment. By the way, the Duchess and I are going for a walk, and she would definitely appreciate it if you wouldn't follow us. Not that you'll be able to if you're dead! _Kill them!_ "

The enemy opened fire on us as Vizsla made his escape with the Duchess; Master Obi-Wan and I were able to deflect the blaster fire, but until we dealt with these guys there was no way to follow.

To be perfectly honest, I was terrified; this was the first time I had ever been in a life-or-death fight, and the thought of having to kill anyone to get out alive horrified me. Before my fear could overwhelm me, I felt Master Obi-Wan's presence in my mind. _Calm yourself, Kevin. Let the Force guide you—I will be at your side._

I still didn't like fighting, but his words definitely helped; taking his advice, I stretched out with my feelings, placing my trust in the Force. I felt my hands being guided, telling me where to move my lightsaber.

 _Block zone two. Block zone six. Deflect three._

Two shots bounced off my lightsaber, a third reflecting back on the shooter.

 _Advance three. Block three. Deflect two. Deflect one._

I stepped forward and to the left. Two more attackers fell to their own shots.

 _Deflect three. Advance two. Block one. Advance. Deflect three. Strike two._

Another enemy fell. I moved forward twice, blocking another shot as I did so. I reflected a shot back at the source before cutting the opponent immediately in front of me in the same motion.

The blaster fire stopped. I looked around, seeing the floor littered with opponents; a few were dead, some were wounded and disabled, but alive. I still felt unease over what I had done, but with Master Obi-Wan's presence and the guidance of the Force, I was able to push aside that feeling and remain calm. Like it or not, I had no choice but to act in the moment. Regret for the death of others remained, but the specter of guilt was banished. Master Obi-Wan deactivated his lightsaber and gestured for me to follow; I averted my eyes from the floor and rushed after him. We had work to do.

* * *

"You don't honestly believe your followers will be able to kill Obi-Wan and his apprentice, do you?"

"If you value your neck, Duchess, you'll shut your mouth. I have a call to make."

Vizsla dragged her over to a holocall desk and pressed a few buttons; the result was the image of Count Dooku standing before them, a look of disappointment on his face. "You seem to be having some difficulty, Vizsla."

Satine looked on, wide-eyed with horror and anger. "So it's true! You ARE working with the Separatists!"

Vizsla ignored her, glaring at Dooku instead. "Kenobi and his padawan saw through me. I don't know how they did, but it looks like the plan's changed. If I take Satine, I can use her to force Mandalore to accept our control."

The Sith Lord shook his head. "You underestimate her influence on the people of Mandalore, Governor; the plan hinged upon turning them against her, but you have instead made her a victim. The plan has indeed changed; I am canceling our bargain."

"You promised that you would support us, Dooku!" Vizsla shouted angrily. "Don't you dare go back on your word!"

"My support was contingent on whether or not you could follow simple orders. Clearly, you are not nearly as competent as you lead me to believe. Do as you wish with Satine; our business is concluded."

Dooku severed his own connection before Vizsla could respond. "Damn him... well, Duchess, I guess we'll have to do without his help. You'd better pray your people listen to our demands!"

"I'm afraid you won't get very far, Governor!"

Satine looked toward the source of the voice. "Obi-Wan!"

* * *

The warrior had heard the commotion; as he suspected, the situation had gone awry. Creeping around the corner, he spied the two Jedi entering the room, lightsabers at the ready; Vizsla's back was to the warrior as he faced them.

He would need to act quickly. There was no turning back now.

* * *

"Heh... I may have lost, but you haven't won yet! It seems your pacifism has brought you nothing but death, Duchess!"

Master Obi-Wan and I remained still, not willing to risk Satine's life.

Vizsla continued taunting. "And you, Jedi, you think you're so much better than us, but you're just as willing to resort to violence as we are!"

Master Obi-Wan remained calm on the outside, but I could tell that Vizsla's words were getting to him. "You're wrong. We fight to protect; you fight for the sake of bloodshed!"

"You lead armies over battlefields, mowing down enemy after enemy without hesitation! How can you still deny your own bloodlust? You can't even admit your own feelings for your precious Satine!"

For a moment, Master Obi-Wan's aura wavered. "It's not like that—"

"Ha! Denial is an ugly thing, isn't it? It's written all over your face!" Vizsla turned his gaze to Satine. "If I lose, so do all of you! Kill me if you want, she'll still be dead! Say farewell, Duchess!"

Satine looked upon Master Obi-Wan with sorrow and fear in her eyes. "Obi-Wan, I want you to know... I've loved you from the moment you came to my aid all those years ago."

"Satine, I—" Master Obi-Wan stopped short of his response, meeting her gaze with his own. "All right. Had you said the word... I would have left the Jedi Order for you."

As he said those words, a change occurred in his aura, one that I couldn't help but notice.

Vizsla smirked evilly. "How very heartbreaking. I couldn't have thought of a better way to hurt you before I killed you! Time to die— "

Before he could respond, a shape flitted out from behind Vizsla, firing a single shot through the Governor's shoulder, causing him to wince in pain. Satine twisted out of his grip, ducking just in time for three more shots to tear through his chest, killing him.

The three of us looked on as Sael Osool dropped the still-smoking blaster and walked into the open. Satine was the first to respond. "You... what are you doing here?"

Osool shook his head. "I managed to slip out of my bonds and stow away on board your shuttle." He walked over to Vizsla's body, looking it over. "With him gone, Death Watch should fall apart. He was the one everyone rallied around, after all; they won't sully our ancestors any longer."

As the silence hung further, he reached out his hands to Master Obi-Wan. "I place myself under arrest once more. My honor is restored... I have no regrets."

Satine stood, smiling. "That will not be necessary, Osool."

* * *

With the mission complete, Master Obi-Wan and I boarded the ship back to Coruscant. Satine gave Osool a full pardon for his actions in saving her life and his clear desire to redeem himself for his actions. Aside from that, though, She and Kenobi didn't talk very much beyond simple pleasantries. As the ship took off, I turned to him.

"Master, about Satine..."

"I know, padawan. The code forbids attachment; I should not have allowed my personal feelings to overcome me."

I shook my head. "That's not it. When you said... what you said, I felt something. Something that made me think about that rule."

He looked at me, a question written on his face. "What?"

"The Light side of the Force... it's really strong with you. Like a huge beacon. That's what it looks like to me, anyway. But when you told her what you felt about her... it grew even brighter. Maybe those feelings aren't as bad as you think?"

Master Obi-Wan started to say something against that, but stopped himself, a contemplative look crossing his face. "I... I'm not sure, Kevin. The code is very clear on personal feelings..."

He didn't say anything else the whole trip, but one thing was obvious: he was definitely considering my words. I wasn't entirely certain, but I had the feeling that I made a positive difference in that moment. Time would tell.

* * *

 _ **Sorry about how short that fight scene was, but I figured the other stuff was more important. See you next chapter!**_


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** ** _Disney owns Star Wars, along with way too much of everyone's childhood. All the same, when they war with Google for control of the planet, I'll still sign up with them, because at least Mickey's Magical Re-education Camps will have excellent rides._**

* * *

The changes to canon after our mission to Mandalore ended up being a little more extensive than I expected; due to Pre Vizsla's death, Sael Osool's help, and Dooku pulling his support, the Death Watch quickly crumbled. As a result, the conspiracy to make Mandalore look bad in the Senate by making Death Watch seem more dangerous than it really was stopped practically before it started, which in turn made Padme's push to begin trade with the Neutral Systems go through without a hitch... which in turn meant that Almec wouldn't have to resort to the whole black market conspiracy to keep supplies moving in... which in turn meant that, for all intents and purposes, Mandalore was safe and stable for the foreseeable future. It kind of took me by surprise how such a minor change could have such wide-reaching effects. That being said, there were still some things that happened more or less the same as in canon; for instance, once Master Obi-Wan and I got back from Mandalore, we learned that we missed the whole affair with Boba Fett and Aurra Sing trying to kill Master Windu.

I meditated on all of this in my quarters at the temple; it had been almost a week since our mission to Mandalore, and judging by what I knew of the timeline, the Battle of Kamino wouldn't be that far away... which meant that I might have to duel some pretty scary people if I were to go with Master Obi-Wan. As a padawan with only a few months of training, I knew I would have to seriously step up my game to stay alive, so I decided to start planning my lightsaber focus accordingly. Form III, Soresu, was Master Obi-Wan's preferred form—not surprising considering he's often considered the single greatest master of the style. A big part of what made that form's defense so formidable was reliant on the practitioner having a great deal of skill in sensory and precognitive abilities, and with my insanely developed sensitivity in that area, I'd have very little problem with the whole "impenetrable fortress" thing once I really got going. The only problem was that the style had no real offensive component; Master Obi-Wan got around this with his initial background in Form IV, Ataru, but due to the opposing natures of the two styles, the transition between Soresu's perfect defense and Ataru's focus on pure offense was something only a high-level master could pull of without a hitch. I was fairly certain that I'd never quite be on that level, which meant finding a way to bridge the gap between the two to make the transitions easier, as well as improving on the defense area just in case.

With all of that in mind, I had a good idea of what my own style would eventually look like; I would try to copy Master Obi-Wan's Soresu Defense/Ataru Offense hybrid, but combine it with Form V, Shien/Djem So, more than Ataru. It made a good deal of sense; Form V was developed from Soresu, so it would perfectly compliment my defensive abilities, and serve as the keystone that held it all together. I'd defend with a combination of Form III and Form V, then use the latter's ability to parry and instantly counter in the same motion to seamlessly transition to an offensive posture once I found an opening. Form IV's speed would let me dodge what I couldn't block, and once I got on the offensive its speed and fluidity would help me press the advantage. Last but not least, the power of Djem So would make for good finishing maneuvers once Ataru got me into a good position to do so.

Thankfully, as I noted previously, Master Obi-Wan had training in Ataru... and a certain togruta padawan was also skilled in it, and not to mention was being personally trained by one of the greatest (if not THE greatest) masters of Form V who ever lived. The trick would be finding time to practice with her...

My thoughts were interrupted by a knock on my door. "Hey, Kevin, are you in there?"

Speak of the padawan. "Yeah, come on in, Ahsoka. I was just finishing up my meditations."

I stood up to greet her as she entered. "So, what's up? Is there a new mission?"

"Yeah, but not for us," Ahsoka replied, shaking her head. "Our respective Masters are going off to fight on Balith; something about a civil war there."

This was a change in canon that kind of confused me; in the series, only Anakin went off to Balith. I didn't see any reason for the change beyond the possibility that my very presence was just making Master Obi-Wan make slight changes in his decisions. I dropped the thought for the moment, figuring it wasn't important.

"I'm guessing you probably wanted to go with them, huh?"

She sighed dejectedly. "I always learn better on the battlefield, but Master Skywalker wanted me to try and do some studying here for a change. It's really kind of boring, so I figured if I was gonna be stuck here, I might as well find someone to train with."

 _Well, I guess I didn't need to worry about how to ask her._ "Sounds like a plan. I was actually thinking about asking you to help me practice. I might even have a few ideas on where we could start..."

* * *

"Anakin, I have a question."

"Yeah? What is it?"

"What brief madness made me decide to join you on this mission?"

Obi-Wan and Anakin were currently being assaulted by almost a full contingent of battle droids; the conflict was, as a result, rather one-sided.

"Oh, admit it, Obi-Wan. You'd have missed me if you hadn't come," Anakin said, casually destroying droids left and right. "Besides, it could always be worse."

Before Kenobi could berate Anakin for tempting fate, no fewer than ten advanced droidekas rolled in and joined the melee, forcing the pair to retreat.

"Yes, this is far better than a nice, quiet bit of meditation back at the temple. I'm just glad our respective padawans won't be getting into any trouble..."

* * *

Back at the temple, my lightsaber training with Ahsoka was going fairly well. I had a long way to go before reaching her level, but fortunately I was progressing relatively quickly. For the moment, we were both sitting down on the floor, taking a breather in between sparring bouts.

"Oof... You hit like a freight train, Ahsoka."

She smiled proudly. "Comes with having Skyguy as a Master. Your defense is pretty solid, though; you held me off pretty well for a while there."

"Yeah, until you whacked me in the head with the training saber," I replied, rubbing the spot in question. "That whole fluid riposte thing is tricky; my arms just seem to want to stay locked in close when I parry."

She chuckled a bit. "It's okay, I had the same problem when I first started studying Form V. You just need to develop a bit of muscle memory is all—"

Our conversation was interrupted in a rather unexpected way. As I've said before, it's hard to describe the Force to anyone who doesn't have the ability to use or feel it; I felt myself pulled out of the world in my mind, the whole room and everything in it falling away and being replaced by something else. One second I was sitting with Ahsoka, the next she and I were running through a hallway; we were in a near-panic, there was danger and we were desperately rushing to stop it. We burst through a door to see Padme Amidala standing in front of a window, a shot rang out...

"WHOA!"

"AAH!"

And just like that, I was back in the training area across from Ahsoka. It took me a couple of seconds to realize that she had yelped as well; looking over at her, I also noticed that she seemed as worried as I felt at what had just happened.

"Kevin... did you feel that, too?"

"Yeah. I think we just shared a vision..."

A couple of moments passed before I suddenly remembered something about the series, specifically about what happened in the episode where Anakin left Ahsoka behind to go to Balith. Her expression mirrored my own as she had her own revelation, which led both of us to a simultaneous statement of the same conclusion.

"Senator Amidala is in danger."

* * *

Anakin and Obi-Wan both managed to make it back to their forward operating base camp safely after their ill-fated attempt at reconnaissance with little more than a few light scrapes. While the clone troopers around them prepared for an incoming assault, the two used the brief moment to catch their breaths.

"Hey, Obi-Wan, you seem a little off today. What's up?"

Kenobi looked up. "Oh, it's nothing. Just considering some words from my new padawan."

"That's a 'nothing'? I figured my time under you would have taught you that padawan words can be more than just a 'nothing'. Did something happen on your mission?"

Obi-Wan closed his eyes for a moment, trying to clear his head. "...you could say that, yes. But I'll be fine, don't worry."

"You sure?" A sympathetic look came over Anakin's face. "I'm here to talk if you need me. Who knows, maybe I might be able to help with whatever it is that's bothering you."

Obi-Wan didn't have an answer to give, which was good considering that their army's preparations were completed just in time for the enemy to come into sight of their forward scouts.

He sighed a bit as he ran toward the front line. "We can chat later, Anakin. We have work to do now..."

* * *

One of the things that intrigued me about meeting the characters here was that while some of them (such as Master Obi-Wan, Palpatine, and Mace Windu) looked more or less identical to their live-action actors, others (such as Anakin) looked a bit closer to their animated counterparts. Ahsoka and I took a transport to Padme Amidala's apartment, and on the way I silently wondered which version she would be; I didn't have long to wonder once we arrived. As Captain Typho, her head of security, lead us into her chambers, I found myself face-to-face with Not!Natalie Portman. Suffice to say, it was more than a little awkward for me.

Typho spoke with a highly professional monotone as he introduced us. "Senator, padawans Ahsoka Tano and Kevin Caller are here to see you."

"Ahsoka! It's so good to see you," Padme said, giving the togruta a slightly less-than-completely-formal bow before turning to me. "It's very nice to meet you, Kevin Caller."

My response was to nervously avert my gaze and scratch the back of my head with one arm. "Um... it's just Kevin, if you like... er, I mean, it's an honor to meet you, Senator!"

She responded with a gentle chuckle and a warm smile. "That's perfectly all right, 'Kevin'. I may have come from a privileged background, but I prefer not to put on too many airs or make myself as unapproachable as so many in the Senate tend to. Besides, any friend of Ahsoka's is a friend of mine."

"Sorry, Senator, but this isn't a social visit," Ahsoka interjected with deep concern in her voice. "The truth is, we're worried for you; Kevin and I sense you're in grave danger."

A beat passed before the Senator in question spoke. "What makes you believe that?"

Having recovered a bit from my earlier nervousness, I decided to speak next. "Well, the two of us were in the middle of a training session and we shared the same vision."

"That's not all," Ahsoka continued. "I've been having bad dreams lately along the same line. Padme, I _know_ you're in danger, I just know it."

"What kind of danger?" Captain Typho said, his serious facade becoming even stonier.

"Kevin and I believe that a very dangerous bounty hunter is out to assassinate you."

Padme sighed worriedly. "This is troubling... Captain, please take all necessary precautions."

"Wait, you're leaving?" Ahsoka exclaimed.

"Yes. Bail Organa and I are leading a conference concerning the refugees from the war. I leave for Alderaan in the morning."

I knew where this was going, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to speed things along a little bit. "Senator, please let us come with you. We can't just let you go off like this, not after the visions we've both had..."

"Kevin's right! Besides, you might need all the help you can get! Allow us to come with you... please..."

A few seconds passed before Padme relented. "Well, I suppose it couldn't hurt. The transport leaves at 7; that should be enough time for you to get whatever you need from the Temple. We'll wait for you as long as we can."

The next morning, we got our field kits together (which basically amounted to a single belt pouch containing spare lightsaber parts and a medpac—Jedi travel light) and met up with Amidala at the landing pad her ship was leaving on. As we took off, I couldn't help but notice that, aside from my presence, not much had seemed to change from canon; this worried me a little bit, but I figured that I'd probably be able to work out whatever changes occurred when they happened.

* * *

Obi-Wan sat down in his tent, sighing in relief. All in all, in spite of his own semi-distracted state, the battle had gone fairly well; the CIS troops had been driven back with relatively few casualties on the Republic's side, and while the enemy wasn't done fighting on this planet just yet, the next big push would almost certainly decide things. _Perhaps I might even get a bit of sleep..._

That thought was suddenly cut short when he sensed great distress coming from Anakin; grabbing his lightsaber, he quickly rushed over to his former padawan's tent to find Skywalker sitting up on his bed roll, one hand clutching his head and a rather grave look on his face.

"What is it, Anakin? What's the matter?"

"I... I had a dream, that's all. It's nothing."

Anakin's expression told a very different story, and Obi-Wan knew it. "Anakin, you told me earlier that you would be there to talk if I needed it. Well, that goes both ways; I'm here for you. What was this dream?"

Skywalker initially seemed very reluctant to speak for some reason, but relented after a few moments. "I saw our padawans, and Pad—I mean, Senator Amidala. They were in danger..."

Ordinarily, Kenobi wouldn't have thought anything of the manner in which Anakin had just spoken. But something about the way he sounded when he mentioned Amidala stood out to him; quickly, he tried to banish such thoughts. _No, he's not a padawan anymore, he's a full-fledged knight. He knows better than to allow emotional attachments to..._

It was that last thought that stopped Obi-Wan in his tracks, but he didn't know why. Was it just his own thoughts concerning Satine, or was it something about Anakin? Again, he decided to shove back such thoughts, this time being successful, but only partially.

"Anakin, not all dreams are prophetic. I'm sure they're all just fine..."

"Yeah, you're right..."

Both Jedi nodded, but neither was truly certain.

* * *

The trip to Alderaan started out to be pretty uneventful, aside from Padme teaching both me and Ahsoka how to play dejariik. It was interesting—kind of a weird cross between a real-time strategy video game and chess—but it was also fairly tricky to master, and neither Ahsoka or I were able to really grasp more than the basics. It didn't help that both of us were distracted, but for different reasons. Ahsoka was worried because of her own doubts about her abilities without the aid of Anakin to guide her; mine was due to the apparent lack of changes to canon so far on the mission.

My presence alone didn't amount to much, but given what happened on Mandalore I had already learned that even a slight change in players could have wide-reaching and drastic results. Even though I didn't see it, I was sure that somewhere, _something_ had to have changed. Would it be a good change this time, or would something go terribly wrong? Would Aurra Sing, the assassin in our visions, be able to kill Padme before we stopped her? Would one of us get hurt, or worse? There were a billion ways this could go bad, and the thought of inadvertently bringing about disaster wasn't helping. I decided to try meditating on the matter, since that always seemed to help when I was feeling anxious. Little did I know that a rather major change had already occurred, and it wasn't done yet...

* * *

 _ **One interesting challenge to the approach I'm taking here is the difficulty of rewriting canon scenes without unnecessary changes, but all the same adding subtle differences to action and dialogue here and there. Fortunately, after this bit we have only one real canon arc left to go before things go totally off the rails, and by that time I'll have hopefully gotten better at balancing the canon script with the gradual changes that are occurring. Not that it'll matter once the domino effect kicks in, of course. See you next chapter!**_

 _ **EDIT: Added a line clarifying how much time had passed between the beginning of this chapter and the end of the previous one (almost a week, to be specific). It's one of the only good things about TCW episodes being out of chronological order, canonically speaking-if needed, I can make rough general guesses as to the time between certain episodes.**_


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** ** _You know, all these jokes I've been making about Disney ruling everything were only half-jokes... until I learned that Fox was seriously thinking of possibly selling a good chunk of its entertainment arm to the Mouse. So, Disney owns Star Wars, and I am now officially one-tenth joking about them eventually ruling the world._**

* * *

 _Alderaan. Amidala begins to speak, her voice calm and confident. Two youths flanking her, eyes darting. Blaster fire. Pain. Panic. Lightsabers activate. Danger not gone. Shots ring out..._

"Aah!" Obi-Wan awoke with a terrible start. Looking around, he slowly recalled where he was.

The conflict on Balith was already finished, the enemy unable to deal with a clone army led by two Jedi; in fact, the surrender happened rather quickly the moment the CIS commander learned exactly WHO the two Jedi in question were—evidently, the reputation of both the Hero with No Fear _and_ the Negotiator preceded them enough that a simple firm request of surrender from Obi-Wan over loudspeaker was sufficient. All in all, the entire engagement was over in less than forty-eight hours since they arrived, and both Jedi were on a transport back to Coruscant almost before noon the second day.

Shaking his head, Obi-Wan found himself unable to easily banish the images. Ordinarily, he would dismiss them as the product of an overactive mind at night—the gift of foresight rarely came to him in the form of full-on visions. This time was different; not only had Anakin had a similar dream the previous night, he could sense that his former padawan's current distress was from the same source. And if there was one thing he had learned from all his years in the Jedi, it was that there was no such thing as coincidence where the Force was involved.

Getting up and rushing to the door of his quarters, he found Anakin already standing in the hallway outside, a similar expression of worry on his face. The final confirmation that their dreams were more than night fancies came when they spoke in perfect unison:

"We need to get to Alderaan. Now."

* * *

"Kevin, wake up! She's here!"

I found myself being shaken awake by Ahsoka in the middle of the night—well, what passes for night when you're in space. We had been sharing a guest room on Padme's ship, and thanks to my (rather unexpected, I don't even know how it happened) victory over Ahsoka in our very first dejariik match I got to call the bed instead of the floor. As such, it took me a few seconds to remember the events of the episode and realize what was happening.

"Hnn... Ahsoka, are you talking about the assassin?"

"So you had the vision, too? Quick, we need to get to Padme's room!"

Knowing what was really going on and hoping to avoid any awkwardness due to panic, I grabbed her wrist. "Wait, Ahsoka! The assassin isn't here!"

She looked at me in bewilderment. "But you saw the vision, too! She's—"

"Yeah, I saw it," I lied before immediately transitioning into truth, "But if she were here, I'd feel her. Super Sense Powers, remember? The only way she would be here is if she were already on board when we got on, and I definitely would have noticed if there was someone extra outside of the landing crew."

She relented, understanding my logic but clearly not comforted. "Ugh... maybe I'm losing my touch. Without Master Skywalker here, I don't know what to do. I'm surprised you're doing better than I am, considering you've been in this universe for less than a year."

I chuckled tiredly. "Honestly, I'm probably even more surprised than you at that; I'm still adjusting to space travel, for crying out loud. Not having Master Obi-Wan here is kind of weird for me, too. But one of the first things he taught me when I started training at the Temple was that it's important to keep calm in cases like this. Besides, we may just be padawans, but there's two of us; between your skill and my sensitivity, protecting Senator Amidala shouldn't be too difficult, right?"

"Well, I guess..." Ahsoka sighed. "I just hope I don't freak out again and miss something important when it counts."

"Best way to deal with that is to get a good night's rest, in my humble opinion..." I said, wrapping the covers tight around me as she nodded and reluctantly went back to her spot on the floor.

Thankfully, there wasn't another incident by the time we arrived, and with both of us well-rested we were plenty alert and ready for bodyguard duty. I was even able to avoid getting distracted by Alderaan's frankly breathtaking beauty, though I made a promise to myself to get a holo or something before we left after stopping the assassination. That being said, seeing the same hallway from our force-vision made both of us nervous.

As Padme entered a private room with Bail Organa and Mon Mothma to discuss her speech before the impending refugee talks, I decided to join her in a last-minute meditation to see if we could discern anything new through the Force. I already knew the episode, but I still wasn't sure if anything significant had changed, and I figured it couldn't hurt to double-check. The result took me by surprise.

 _Padme speaking. Aurra Sing crawling through vents. Preparation of sniper rifle. Shot fired, hits Padme. Padme falls. Gasp from crowd. Glow of red..._

We came out of trance with a mutual expression of "oh crap" written on our faces. What the heck was that last image? Was it a lightsaber? Something had gone dreadfully wrong with canon here.

"Ahsoka, that last image... this might be worse than we thought."

"Yeah, that reaction from the crowd looked pretty bad. Did the shot hit home or something? We have to warn the Senator!"

I reacted with confusion. "Wait, you didn't see anything after the crowd?"

"No, why? Did you?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "That assassin may not be the only one here. I saw a red glow, one that could have been from a lightsaber, but I couldn't be sure. Ahsoka, I've never been in a serious lightsaber duel, and judging by what I've heard about all the people out there with red lightsabers you guys have fought recently..."

Ahsoka groaned in frustration and worry. "Oh Force, this just keeps getting worse! Why did this have to happen when it was just us?"

I didn't have an answer. All I could do was pray that I hadn't somehow doomed Padme through my actions.

* * *

Aurra Sing was never the type to really think about her employers, so long as she got paid. That said, the only time she ever really had to deal with multiple employers was when one tried to pay her to turn on another; to her knowledge, no one had ever paid her to do exactly what someone else had paid her to do, save for an additional target and giving a pre-death message that wouldn't really matter. In the end, her musings on this were little more than idle curiosity to pass the time while waiting for the target; money was money, after all.

She grimaced, tugging a bit at the fabric of the porter's uniform she was wearing over her usual attire; The outfit was far from the light and breathable clothes she was accustomed to wearing, but if she wanted to get into position without attracting suspicion the assumed identity was a thankfully temporary necessity. After a few last-minute checks on the fit, she smirked.

"Well, it was fun while it lasted, but I'm afraid I'll have to get to work now. Thanks for the costume, sweetheart."

She walked out of the closet, not bothering to look at the corpse on the floor as she locked the door behind her.

* * *

We did our best to hide our fear as we entered the room where Padme sat visiting with Mon Mothma and Bail Organa; I was certain that we were only partially effective.

"Senator Amidala, might Kevin and I have a word with you in private?"

Padme looked up at us for a moment before getting the hint.

"Of course, Padawan Tano. If you'll excuse me..."

As her guests left the room, she stood and approached us with utter calm. "I assume this is about the threat you two have sensed?"

I nodded. "Yes, Senator. As a matter of fact, the threat might be even more dangerous than we first thought!"

"What do you mean by that?" Captain Typho stood next to us. "We don't have much time to waste with words; Senator Amidala must prepare for her speech—"

"Wait, just listen!" Ahsoka interrupted. "Kevin and I both had another vision just now, but this time we could see a location. You were giving a speech, and Aurra Sing shot you! But that's not all. Kevin, tell her what you saw!"

"I had the same vision as Ahsoka, but I saw one extra part—it wasn't very clear, but I saw some sort of red glow, maybe from a lightsaber. All I know is, it didn't belong to Sing!"

Ahsoka approached the Senator with a pleading gesture. "Please, Padme, call off the speech! This whole thing is getting out of hand!"

"I can't do that," Padme replied, shaking her head. There are far too many innocents whose lives may hang on the results of this summit."

I stepped forward next, trying to reason with her. "Senator, please reconsider! Maybe we could delay the summit for a bit—"

"I'm sorry, Kevin, but my voice is only one among many here; I can't ask the galaxy to stop spinning simply because my own life is in danger."

"But what about my vision?" I pleaded; considering what I knew about her importance to a certain Jedi Knight, the thought of her dying genuinely scared me. "If that glow _was_ a lightsaber, I don't know if we'll be able to defend you against whoever was wielding it, let alone protect you from Sing at the same time!"

Captain Typho reacted to that, turning to Padme as well. "He has a point. Mercenaries are one thing, but neither I nor my men are equipped to fight a Sith."

For a moment, I was sure that the assessment of Padme's personal bodyguard would be enough to sway her. Unfortunately, I underestimated her stubbornness, as evidenced by a calm shake of her head. "I appreciate your concern, but I simply can't walk away. This summit is far too important."

"But is it worth your life?!"

"Yes, Kevin. It is."

The room froze for a few moments; Padme's statement didn't rise above a neutral volume, and the tone was as calm as ever. But her inflection was firm and full of resolve; it was clear that, as far as she was concerned, asking her to cancel her speech would have been equivalent to asking the planet to stop turning.

Before anyone could respond, she walked over to the balcony, pointing to a spot out in the distance. "Look out over that balcony; see that mountain over there, the one that take up most of the horizon? The number of refugees that this war has created _thus far_ would cover it from base to summit several times over. Think about that. So many innocents; men, women, children, the young and the old, the sick, the poor, the hungry... this summit is more than a few speeches. The fate of all those people relies on someone convincing the attendees to provide the necessary relief, and not everyone here is willing to give as much as is needed. My words could make that difference. If I walked away, I would be putting all of those refugees in danger; by comparison, my life weighs far less."

Pausing for reply but receiving none, she continued, turning back to face us again. "I am not a Jedi, nor a soldier, but my role is just as vital. So many brave men and women in your Order have already given their lives in defense of those who cannot defend themselves, without hesitation or regret; I cannot, and will not, do any less. If helping those countless innocents means putting my life at risk in the process, then so be it."

The silence that filled the air continued to be deafening; I found myself rendered just as speechless by her words as Ahsoka was. That speech she had just given us was full of righteousness and conviction beyond anything I had ever heard in my life; it was plain to see where Luke and Leia got their nobility and courage from in the Original Trilogy. There was nothing left to say; the Senator from Naboo would neither move, nor be moved. Assassin or not, Sith or not, protected or not, she would be giving a speech that night, and that was all there was to it.

Finally, Ahsoka managed to muster up a defeated sigh. "Alright. But will you at least allow us to stay close to you for the duration?"

Padme gave a warm smile in return. "Ahsoka, I would have it no other way."

* * *

Bail Organa rose to his feet, speaking for the whole room to hear. "As the conflict that divides our galaxy escalates, we cannot lose perspective on the value of life and the price of freedom; no one knows this truth more than the distinguished Senator Padme Amidala of Naboo."

The summit began as it did in canon, save for me standing directly behind Padme, Ahsoka standing off to the side with Captain Typho and the rest of Padme's security detail. Hopefully, Sing would shoot from the same location as she did in the episode and Ahsoka would stop her; if not, I was in a prime position to block the shot. As Padme began to speak, I decided to use my sensory powers to look for anything out of the ordinary as far as canon went.

Closing my eyes and stretching out with my feelings, I quickly noticed that my sensory powers had grown a little bit more since I last tried this trick; for one, the range at which I could clearly detect non-force users was increased to the point where I could detect them through walls and ceilings. In addition to that, I had gotten better at "zooming in" on individuals, as well as at sensing intent. I almost immediately noticed the death of a guard on the balcony level above as Aurra Sing got into position; thankfully, Ahsoka noticed it too and began running to intercept, leaving me to remain at Padme's side.

Just as Sing began to fire, though, I suddenly sensed a MASSIVE presence in the Force, one that sent a cold shiver down my spine; I had never felt anything like that before in my life, but I knew then and there that the presence belonged to a powerful dark sider. As a result of my momentary distraction, Sing managed to get her shot off, Ahsoka's timely intervention causing it to hit Padme in the shoulder as it did in the episode. As those present rushed to her side and sent for a medical droid, I somehow managed to keep control of my senses long enough to search for the source of the disturbance... only to find that it had vanished again.

"Not good..." As the medical droid arrived and placed her on a hover stretcher, I gestured to Captain Typho, trying my best to stay calm as Master Obi-Wan would in such a situation. "We need to get her to a secure location as soon as possible! I don't think that sniper was alone, and I can't protect her in such a large space!"

"Already on it! Men, form a defensive perimeter around her; Padawan Caller, take point, we're going to have to run!"

I kept my hand close to my lightsaber as we rushed through the halls toward Padme's chambers; while we ran, I kept searching through the Force for that dark side presence as best as I could, but doing that while moving proved difficult. Try as I might, I was only able to tell that it was _somewhere_ in the building, but considering that said building was a massive spire with hundreds of floors, that wasn't saying much.

Ahsoka joined up with us shortly before we made it to the room, worry on her face. "I was right, it was Aurra Sing! She managed to get away from me before I could stop her! How is Padme? Is she—"

"The shot hit her in the shoulder; the medical droid is in there with her now. But Ahsoka, I've got worse news..."

"Oh no... don't tell me..."

I nodded. "Yeah, my vision just got confirmed, too. I felt a huge dark side presence just before Sing took the shot, but it disappeared. Ahsoka, there's a Sith here somewhere, I know it!"

* * *

 _ **Yes, a cliffhanger. No, I'm not sorry. Yes, Kevin is absolutely screwed right now. No, the divergence from canon isn't done messing with him just yet, and it's not the only one that'll happen this arc. What's going to happen? Find out on the next episode of Call of the Force! *insert DBZ Toonami outro music***_


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** _**I made a couple of changes to the passage of time with regards to Kevin's PoV—both to give a more realistic amount of training time for him, and for other plot consistency-related reasons that I can't go into detail on—in chapters four and seven. It's o**_ _ **ne of the only good things about TCW episodes being out of chronological order (canonically speaking)**_ _ **—**_ _ **if needed, I can make rough general guesses as to the time between certain episodes.**_

 _ **Disney owns Star Wars. Kneel, denizens of Earth! Kneel before Zo- er, the Mouse!**_

* * *

"Padme... I'm sorry. We both are."

"For what, Ahsoka? You two did all you could."

As in the series, Padme's wound was only superficial, requiring only minor patching and a sling. This, combined with the Senator's words, did little to reassure the rest of us in the room.

Bail Organa turned to Ahsoka with a worried expression. "Did you find the assassin?"

"No," replied my fellow Padawan, "She ran off before I could get her."

"She?"

Ahsoka turned back to Bail. "Yes, she. I am positive now that it is Aurra Sing who is out to get you. But I'm afraid that's just the beginning. Tell them, Kevin!"

"Just before Sing took her shot, I tried using the Force to sniff out her location," I said, trying my best to hid just how freaked out I was. "But all of a sudden, I felt a massive Dark Side-related disturbance in the Force; then, just as fast as it showed up, poof, it was gone. But one thing's for sure, there is definitely a Sith here. Between that and Sing, I don't think we can protect you if you go on that podium again!"

A few moments of silence passed; Padme sighed, closing her eyes as she spoke. "I understand. But the fact is, I'm still needed here, Sith or no. And before you try to dissuade me further, if both are out for my blood, they'll chase me wherever I go. And you don't have to stay with me. I'm doing this knowing the risks and accepting them, but you're both still young; I'd hate to let either of you die on my behalf."

"Padme, don't talk like that," Ahsoka said. "Besides, you just said it yourself: you know the risks, but so do we, and we're not leaving you. And I think I have a way we can get around putting you in jeopardy, AND have you attend the conference..."

Again, some things don't change from canon; just like in the show, Ahsoka's plan involved having Padme broadcast her speech through a disguised medical droid. But having seen the show, I already knew that the plan wouldn't work.

"Ahsoka, about that plan... Sing's a seasoned bounty hunter, and I'm not sure she'd fall for that kind of trick. And if she isn't fooled, I know a Sith wouldn't be fooled either."

Ahsoka sighed. "Alright, I guess you do have a point there. So, got any ideas about how to deal with that problem?"

I considered it for a moment before remembering something Master Obi-Wan had said in the older clone wars comics, something that he had also told me himself during my initial training under him prior to the Mandalore mission:

 _A fight is never an goal in itself. Sometimes it is simply a distraction from the true goal... and best countered with a larger distraction._

"A larger distraction... I think I have an idea!"

* * *

The conference room filled with applause as the speech began.

"Fear; in these times, it is the greatest weapon wielded against those who would stand up for truth and justice. We have a responsibility as the elected representatives of the Republic to face our fears and challenge those who threaten the safety of its people."

Aurra Sing moved with practiced skill, giving the speech nothing more than a mildly amused smirk as the speech continued.

"I stand before you today bruised, but not beaten. The voices of the people shall be heard—and together, we shall represent them. The homeless shall no longer be homeless and faceless; the soldiers who so valiantly fight to protect us must also be protected when their job is done..."

 _Hmph. Clever..._ Sing continued moving, silent as the grave; she knew perfectly well that the speaker in the conference room was a droid—as if the lack of the two Jedi padawans standing guard wasn't enough of a clue already. Obviously, they would stay close to the real deal.. and it wasn't difficult to trace the broadcast. _Clever, but not clever enough._

The rest of the speech droned on in the background as Sing traced the signal to a maintenance corridor; internally, she had to once again give the kids credit. The place was long and narrow—giving defenders plenty of time to spot someone coming down the corridor from either direction. Neither were there any doors or blind corners from which an enemy could appear unexpectedly. That being said, she also had to shake her head at the obliviousness of the two padawans who clearly came up with this plan—they chose an area with no obvious entrances, but forgot about the ventilation systems that ran above and below the room. The former had been Sing's choice of entrance, and from that vantage point she could clearly see the two Padawans standing on either side of third, cloaked figure; the signal stopped there, confirming her target—

"Now!"

Before she could react, the bottom of the ventilation tube she was crawling through was torn out from under her by an invisible force, sending her falling into the room below. Thankfully, her skill level was such that she avoided face-planting and instead made a three-point landing, glaring at the two Padawans who now held lightsabers out toward her.

The togruta smirked. "Nice of you to drop in! We've been expecting you."

"YOU!" Sing growled angrily. "I remember you, Jedi brat!"

"Stand down, Sing," the human boy said. "You can't take both of us in this space and you know it."

As Aurra stood, she managed to sneak a flashbang from a belt pouch into her left hand and palm it, keeping the gun in her right pointed at the target as misdirection.

"I've got a few tricks left in my sleeve," the hired killer said, voice full of smug condescension. "You honestly think this ranks with the toughest situations I've been in? Don't flatter yourselves. The Senator'll be dead momentarily."

Padme's voice spoke out. "Why are you doing this? Killing me will not stop the relief effort!"

"Ha!" Sing couldn't help but laugh; not only had she just recognized her secondary target from the images she had been sent, her primary target had just given her as good an excuse as any to give the message her secondary employer had told her to give before the kill. "Honey, you think your cause is the only thing people are interested in killing you over? There are plenty of important people even on Coruscant who'd like nothing more than to see your corpse on the evening news. Some want to get even with you, some want a war... but I honestly don't care, so long they have money. In the end, you guys are just credit signs to me."

The boy had an odd look on his face as she spoke; realizing a moment's lapse when she saw one, she activated the flashbang, forcing the padawans to shut their eyes and brace themselves with the Force as she took her shot at the cloaked figure, the bolt piercing it through the heart. She smiled... only for another shot to come in response from a ventilation grate on the floor near the wall behind where the figure had stood, hitting her with a stun blast. Just before she passed out, she managed to stay conscious long enough to see the smoking remains of another droid on the ground as Senator Padme Amidala emerged from the floor behind it. _Dammit..._

* * *

"I don't normally like pre-recorded speeches," Padme said, "but in this case I think I'll make an exception. Thank you, both of you."

I frowned as Ahsoka and I helped the Senator out of the floor grate. "It's not over yet. That Sith is still out there."

"I wonder what was that last part all about?" Ahsoka said. "She said that there were plenty of important people who wanted Padme dead, even on Coruscant. You think she was talking about anyone in particular?"

That thought already had me worried; I knew right away that Sing's little speech was different than it had gone in canon. The part about someone getting even with Padme obviously referred to Ziro the Hutt, but who was it that wanted a war? Was that in reference to Palpatine?

I shook my head. "We can worry about that later. Let's just get back to the ship—"

Suddenly, Ahsoka and I both felt a massive Dark Side presence coming from one end of the corridor.

"I'm afraid I can't allow that."

My blood froze in my veins at the sheer amount of sadism in that voice. I watched in dread as none other than Asajj Ventress stepped forward, glowering at us as she activated her two blood-red lightsabers. Ahsoka and I stood our ground in front of Padme in spite of our fear, only for Ventress to chuckle.

"How adorable. But unnecessary. I'm not here for the Senator."

Without a warning, Ventress reached out with the Force, lifting Aurra Sing's unconscious form in the air and snapping her neck with a gesture.

Ahsoka kept her eyes on Ventress as she spoke. "Padme, run! We'll hold her off!"

"And leave you to—?"

"RUN!"

With force-assisted speed, Ahsoka began the engagement; I followed suit, hoping that our combined abilities might help us survive long enough to figure out a strategy. Thankfully, Amidala took the hint and fled as the duel began in earnest.

Ventress fell into a Form II defensive cadence, precise deflections and evasions preventing us from hitting her as she responded with quick, light strokes from unexpected directions, some coming within inches of our own vital points.

"You have improved since last we met, girl... but so have I!"

As Ahsoka barely managed to parry and riposte a quick strike from Ventress, I tried to strike from the opposite side, only to quickly find a red lightsaber in the way of my blade and a rapid succession of strikes forcing me back into a defensive posture.

I leapt sideways to avoid being pinned against a wall, Ahsoka's own assault being the only reason Ventress didn't immediately follow. As the fight went on, I tried to think on both my training and the knowledge I had of lore.

 _Form II lightsaber combat, Makashi. Light, quick strokes; no power attacks, but the precision more than makes up for it. Movement focused mostly on forward and backward steps..._

I realized too late that the location we had chosen suited Ventress' style more than mine or Ahsoka's; the narrow hallways meant that acrobatic evasions were limited, and since makashi's movement focused on mostly single-line advances and retreats—much like rapier fencing—the layout only helped in that regard.

The very tip of Ventress' blade sliced through the air, giving me barely enough time to parry before it could cut my throat. I did my best to respond with a Form V riposte, but once again found my blade turned aside with Form II's elegant defense as the Sith responded to an attack from Ahsoka. I tried to add a shin kick to interfere with Ventress' footwork, but immediately pulled my foot back to avoid getting it amputated by a quick sweep, finding myself on the defensive end of a flurry once again.

Ahsoka wasn't doing much better than me, either; every time she attacked, Ventress would turn the blade aside rather than meet it head-on, and reply with a rapid succession of light strokes to force Ahsoka back before turning her attention to one of my own attacks. Ventress' skill at dual-wielding made her more than a match for two padawans, and the smugness in her voice only served to rub it in.

"Impressive, children. But you are both outmatched. Surrender, and I promise to kill you quickly..."

The fight continued, but we were getting absolutely nowhere with Ventress. Every strike was either redirected or turned aside, then instantly responded to; she cut with the tip of her blade, which we barely managed to dodge, or lashed out with a quick yet surgically accurate stab, which we barely managed to parry. No matter what angle we chose, no matter what attack we made, Ventress had a response. She wasn't fighting us. She wasn't even toying with us.

She was _playing._

That's really the only word I could come up with to accurately describe just how outclassed we were; we weren't opponents, we were toys. She could have ended the fight quickly, but out of a sadistic desire for amusement she drew it out, holding back to give us a fighting chance just so she could savor the moment. Her earlier offer of surrender was little more than a taunt; she neither expected nor even _wanted_ us to give up, as it would have meant the fight would have been over too quickly for her to enjoy it.

Toys. That's all we were to her.

"Hmph. I suppose that's enough for now..."

That realization was driven home by her next move. Before Ahsoka or I could do anything, she lashed out with a telekinetic wave that knocked both of us off our feet, sending Ahsoka into a wall and me to the floor several yards away, my lightsaber landing out of my reach. I tried to call it into my hand, only for Ventress to step on my wrist and point one of her lightsabers at my throat.

"Don't give me that sad look," she said, lifting her weapon up in preparation for a killing blow. "Your little friend will be joining you in a moment—"

Before she could follow through, a blue lightsaber soared through the air, forcing her to leap back to avoid being decapitated herself; the weapon returned to its wielder as another blue glow came from the opposite end of the hallway near where Ahsoka had fallen.

Master Obi-Wan leapt forward and stood between me and Ventress before the Sith could attack again. "Are you alright, Kevin?"

"Nng... I'll be fine..."

Looking over Ventress' shoulder, I saw Anakin Skywalker protecting Ahsoka in a similar manner, but with far less calm in his expression. The Sith assassin looked from one Jedi to the other, then growled a curse under her breath and leapt up into the ventilation systems.

"Get back here, Ventress—"

"Anakin, let her go. We have to take care of these two for now."

As Master Obi-Wan helped me to my feet, I frowned a bit in confusion. "Wait, what about Padme? Where is she?"

Anakin's face fell a bit, and it took a couple of seconds to recover; Master Obi-Wan almost seemed to notice it, but for some reason ignored it and looked back at me.

"She'll be okay," he said in a calming tone. "Artoo and a few clones managed to get her to her ship while we came to the rescue."

Looking toward the dead body of Aurra Sing, I recalled her decidedly non-canon last words, as well as what Ventress said just before the fight.

"Hey, Master Obi-Wan, Master Skywalker? I just remembered something. Before the Sith killed her, Sing said that there were 'many important people' on Coruscant who wanted Padme dead for various reasons, some wanting revenge and some wanting war."

Anakin looked over to Sing's corpse for a moment. "I think I know who the revenge part is referring to," he said with notable disgust in his voice, "but the war part is pretty confusing to me."

"Senator Amidala's speech did talk briefly about wanting peace," Ahsoka said, "Maybe Dooku just doesn't want anyone like her creating a peaceful solution to the war?"

Master Obi-Wan thought for a few moments. "I don't think so; Dooku may be ruthless and evil, but he's not a fool. He wants to WIN the war and conquer the Republic, not keep the war going forever until his side is just as devastated as ours. As a long-term planner, he would undoubtedly want such individuals alive just in case he needs a treaty to buy time to recover from a loss."

"Now that you mention it, Master Obi-Wan, Ventress _did_ say she wasn't here for Senator Amidala just before killing Sing. If she's Dooku's apprentice..."

"...then perhaps he and the unknown employer of Sing are enemies, or at least have separate goals. Good thinking, my young padawan. Perhaps someone on Coruscant benefits from keeping the war going for as long as possible..." Master Obi-Wan sighed, dropping the discussion. "In any case, we won't get any answers right now. For the moment, I'm just glad you all are safe."

I looked down. "I just wish you didn't have to run to our rescue. We couldn't beat Ventress, she was even holding back—"

"Hey, don't sell yourselves short, kid." Anakin smiled. "Ventress is a tough customer; the fact that you two survived _at all_ , even if she was holding back, is a pretty big achievement for a couple of padawans in my book."

Getting praise from a Skywalker felt good enough to lift my spirits again. The skill difference between me and Ventress was still intimidating, but I was hopeful that maybe—with the help of Anakin and Master Obi-Wan—that gap might not be impossibly wide for long.

* * *

Dooku stood in front of the large window overlooking the landscape of his homeworld, Serenno; even steeped in the Dark Side, the sight gave him warm feelings of nostalgia. He was not a typical Sith Lord, and he took immense pride in that. Whereas other fools—such as Darth Sidious—might seek little more than power or revenge, Dooku was a visionary with far loftier aspirations; power and revenge were means, not ends. In his own case, the end was simple: order. The galaxy under the Republic and the Jedi Order was chaotic, brutal, and dirty... but a galaxy under his rule? There would be nothing of the sort. He would drag the universe back to civilization whether it wanted it or not. At one point in his life, he thought that the Jedi could restore order, but now he knew otherwise; order must be imposed. As much as he saw Sidious as a means, he secretly thanked his master for helping him to realize that fact.

Part of him was still disappointed in the results of the day; once he learned of the boy from another world, he immediately recognized him as a wildcard, and while the child was nowhere near anything resembling a threat at that point, only a fool would overlook a potential hydrospanner in the works. Although Dooku had hoped to hear of the boy's death, as things stood, it didn't matter; Ventress may have only accomplished half her goal, but he stood to gain regardless of the outcome of that day.

He smiled slightly; he had just made the first major move against Sidious, and no one was the wiser.

After some consideration, he walked over to the holocomm terminal on the wall and sent out a message to his apprentice; there was more work to be done, and little time in which to do it. The game was just beginning, and in the end, he would be the ultimate victor.

* * *

Kenobi watched as his former padawan helped his current one train in Form V alongside Ahsoka, occasionally giving tips of his own, but for the most part he kept to himself; he had a great deal of thinking to do.

 _Anakin..._

Obi-Wan had never felt so utterly blindsided by his own thoughts before that day; though, if he were completely honest with himself, he already knew the truth long before. He had simply not wanted to believe it. After all, the code was quite clear—attachments lead to the Dark Side. It had been hammered into him from day one. But after the incident on Mandalore, and Kevin's words...

" _Maybe those feelings aren't as bad as you think?"_

Those words stayed with him, and as they ran through his mind, he began to see parallels between his lingering feelings for Satine and the actions of his former padawan. But it was seeing Anakin's reaction to Padme's injury that confirmed what he had suspected ever since the day before:

Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala were in love. Not just friendship, not simple dalliance, but true, genuine love. Married even—after all, there was no way in the galaxy that Padme Amidala would attach herself the way she had unless it had been official beforehand. He knew her enough to see that.

His former padawan, now his closest friend, had violated the Jedi Code. According to the rules of the Order, Kenobi ought to expose him to the Council...

But no. He wouldn't. Not anymore. In spite of his belief in the Code, Obi-Wan would not betray Anakin; he would keep this secret. And if the Order found out and decided on expulsion, well... they would just have to expel two Jedi instead of one.

* * *

 _ **The plot thickens! What's Dooku up to? How will Obi-Wan's revelation affect things? Well, you'll just have to keep reading to find out!**_


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** ** _Well, originally I was going to go straight from Alderaan to Kamino, but I realized I needed something in-between to further develop a few things before getting there, so this arc will be an original one not based on any episodes in the series; I'll get to Kamino afterwards. Thankfully, as I stated in the author's note in the previous chapter, the time between story arcs in TCW is not always made clear, so I have some leeway even before taking the changes to canon into account._**

 _ **Disney owns Star Wars, but don't worry—The Last Jedi absolutely does NOT have any subliminal messages telling you to obey hidden in it. Honest.**_

* * *

Even before facing Ventress on Alderaan, I knew that I would have to get better as a duelist if I was to survive for long as the war continued; seeing the gulf in skill between us only served as incentive for me to increase my focus even further. Thankfully, there was enough quiet for about two weeks that both Master Obi-Wan and Anakin were free to help train Ahsoka and me with little interruption. With additional instruction from a few other Jedi in the temple, I also got some training in Form VI, Niman. The jack-of-all-trades method that form used served to aid my ability to transition between the other forms I had chosen to practice; not only that, its focus on chaining force techniques into lightsaber sequences gave me more avenues of both attack and defense. I may not have had the ability to deliver anywhere near the amount of sheer damage that Anakin or Master Obi-Wan could with things like telekinesis, but my fine control was improving fast enough that it would eventually compensate for that.

In spite of the fact that 90% of each day was being dedicated solely to combat instruction at the moment didn't prevent me from finding time to meditate here and there; when I did, I preferred to use that time to reflect on the changes to canon that had occurred thus far. While the last couple of weeks had been quiet enough on the surface, I knew that there were plenty of changes happening out of sight; by taking into account what had already happened and combining that with my knowledge of canon, I decided to try and figure out what those changes might be. Unfortunately, that was easier said and done, and I found myself just as clueless as to what might be going on behind the scenes as I had been at the start; I would have become discouraged by that, if not for the Force. As I said once before, it's virtually impossible to be agnostic when you can feel the Force; whenever I grew anxious over the changes, I felt an almost reassuring sensation—kind of like a calm whisper, but one you hear in your mind and not with your ears (again, describing the Force to someone who can't feel it is difficult)—that told me not to worry. When I was first starting out, that kind of thing wouldn't have helped to calm me down very much, but as time passed I gradually learned to trust the Force completely. Nothing happens by coincidence. There is almost always some sort of plan in place, and while we all have our own choices to make in terms of our individual lives, sometimes it's worth it just to trust that things will work out in the end, and that we'll know when it's time to act. As such, I found myself more able to simply let go and focus on my training.

"Focus, Kevin. Every opponent has a tell, or a pattern to their fighting method. The harder they press, the more aggressively they attack, the more obvious those signs become."

Obi-Wan sat behind me, giving advice and input as Anakin and I circled each other in one of the training areas of the Temple, training sabers activated and brandished; suddenly, the Chosen One unleashed a rapid series of strikes, slashes, and hard chops. I responded by parrying most of them, maintaining careful control over my footwork before transitioning into a Form V riposte, managing to make the switch from defense to offense in a much smoother and effortless manner than I had previously been able to.

"Good follow-through!" Anakin smiled as he backed off a bit, allowing me press the attack for a while. "Don't just watch my saber; watch my entire body—my hands, my feet, my hips, my eyes, my shoulders. Now keep going, and remember, don't overextend!"

After about an hour of this back-and-forth, I got to have a brief break and went over to sit with Master Obi-Wan while Ahsoka took my place in the training circle.

"Sorry to interrupt your training, I am, but a moment of your time, I would like."

All eyes turned to see Grandmaster Yoda entering the chamber.

"Grandmaster Yoda," Anakin said, bowing deeply. "To what do we owe the pleasure?"

The diminutive green Jedi frowned. "A social visit, this is not. An assignment it is. Word of covert Separatist activity on Coruscant we have received; asked us to determine the truth, the Senate has, and free to act all of you are."

Anakin began to speak, only to be interrupted by Master Obi-Wan placing a hand on his shoulder. "If you don't mind, Anakin, Kevin and I shall handle this one; he needs the extra field experience anyway. Besides, this sort of thing calls for subtlety—"

"I'm just going to cut off your Skywalker joke right there, Obi-Wan," Anakin said, rolling his eyes and raising a hand in front of Master Obi-Wan's face. "But you do have a point. Besides, I have a private appointment with a Senator later today..."

Master Obi-Wan frowned a bit, resulting in a raised eyebrow from the Chosen One. "What is it?"

"It's nothing, Anakin; I'll talk to you later. Now, Master Yoda, can you perhaps tell us more of these spies?"

* * *

Yoda watched quietly as the speeder carried Obi-Wan and Kevin away on their mission; for the first time in centuries, the aged Jedi Master felt conflicted, unsure. His colleague and sole confidant in the matter (for the time being) approached and stood next to him, following the gaze.

"Complicated, matters have become; for the fate of the Order I fear."

Mace Windu responded with a somber nod. "Indeed. To think that the actions of the Jedi Order itself may have contributed to the imbalance in the force... the question is, if all the generations of the order dating back thousands of years failed to realize what we have been doing wrong, how would we even begin to know what to do to fix it? The very notion itself feels arrogant."

"To decide that the Jedi are infallible, arrogance _that_ would be. But a point you certainly have. Discuss this with the rest of the council I would, if willing to listen they were."

"True. It is quite ironic; our steadfast and unwavering dedication to the Light is the very thing that has brought the Light low." Windu sighed. "If only we knew more. The Force let us know the source of the imbalance through our first encounter with the boy, but so much of what we saw in his mind that day remains a blank. What is it about his origins that the Force does not wish us to know?"

"In the Padawan's unknown purpose for being here, the answer lies," Yoda said, closing his eyes. "Or perhaps not. A catalyst the boy is, to be certain, but other reasons for his presence there may be."

"I agree. I have seen the shatterpoint ***** ; the boy is one, certainly, but his own importance to the galaxy's future pales in comparison to that which I have seen in Dooku and Skywalker... and now, Kenobi." Windu turned to Yoda, a grave expression on his face. "The greater problem is that the threads radiating from the shatterpoint around young Caller seem almost... vague. As if there are aspects that he will influence that we cannot perceive, that are entirely beyond our knowledge."

"Beyond our knowledge many things are, Master Windu."

"Indeed. But this feels different, and it worries me. For once, we are flying entirely blind."

Yoda shook his head sadly, looking over the horizon, his gaze settling on an apartment building in the distance. "No. Blind we _were_ , Master Windu. Blind we _were_..."

* * *

According to Grandmaster Yoda, the activity had been traced to a rather seedy district in the lower levels of Coruscant, below the Senate district. The area was a hotbed of underworld activity on a good day, mostly involving organized crime, dirty political dealings, and other assorted nastiness. Occasionally, a particularly corrupt Senator or other sort of politician would make a visit (under heavy guard, of course) to enjoy the darker side of Coruscant without straying too far from their preferred stomping grounds. All in all, it was the perfect playground for any spy.

Our speeder arrived at a rather busy nightclub; even from outside the building, the sound of lively music and raucus partying could be heard. Not exactly the kind of place Jedi usually went to.

Taking in the bright lights and seedy atmosphere, I stopped and turned to Master Obi-Wan. "So, how are we going to do this?"

"I have a contact who frequents this place—a retired bounty hunter by the name of Luto Va'Gota. In spite of his retirement, he keeps his ear to the ground and is a reliable source of information on the criminal underworld; if anyone here would know something useful about these possible spies, it would be him."

I nodded in understanding. "Makes sense. Can you give me any advice before we go in there?"

"Yes. One, stay close to me and don't wander off; two, keep your hand near your lightsaber at all times—there are plenty of pickpockets around here who will take whatever openings they can get and don't care who their target is; three, don't do anything that would draw attention—we will already stand out; finally, and most importantly... don't eat the bar nuts." On my quizzical look, he shook his head, a rather sickened expression crossing his face. "Don't ask. You don't want to know..."

We made our way through the crowds and into the club; the throb and hum of the music could barely be heard over the sound of the many patrons and their activities. The interior had several stories to it, all crammed with people of every persuasion. In addition to the obligatory dining tables, the place featured a gambling area with several large holoscreens on the walls displaying various sports events, a dance floor, and a large concert stage where a ten-piece band played while scantily-clad twilek dancers showed off their best features for the crowd. On the far side of the room lay the bar, where several bartenders went back and forth serving drinks to thirsty patrons.

Approaching the bar, an aged Weequay turned to look at us; everything about the guy gave off an air of a veteran. He was obviously old by the standards of his species, with signs of extra weight from years of post-retirement living; that said, a good deal of muscle remained, and the way he carried himself made it clear that he could still take plenty of cutthroats half his age. As he looked at Master Obi-Wan, he smiled with a twinkle in his eye and extended a hand in greeting, speaking Huttese in a gruff voice that matched his grizzled appearance.

 **-"Well well well, if it isn't the Negotiator himself, come to slum it up with us drunks!"-**

"It has been far too long, Luto," Master Obi-Wan said, accepting the shake and returning the smile.

The old bounty hunter turned to me next; intimidating appearance aside, his demeanor was at odds with the rest of the surrounding establisment and its patrons. **-"And who's this? Your apprentice?"-**

I nodded. "Padawan Kevin Caller. It's nice to meet you, Mr. Va'Gota." His handshake was strong and firm in spite of his age.

 **-"Ha! _Mister_ Va'Gota? I ain't a senator, kid—just call me Luto."-** He turned to look at Master Obi-Wan again, leaning against the bar. **-"So, I'm guessing this isn't a social call. You're looking for information as usual, right?"-**

"Straight to the point as always, old friend," Master Obi-Wan leaned forward, lowering his voice a bit. "We've received reports of potential CIS spies operating on Coruscant. Do you know anything about that?"

The smile disappeared, replaced by a rather serious look. **-"Hmph. Shoulda known... Bartender, get me a strong one, quick."-**

Looking around carefully, he lowered his voice in the same way as Master Obi-Wan. **-"There's always spywork of some kind being done around here, but usually it's just hutt-related. But they don't usually gather a massive amount of illegal explosives in a short amount of time; at least, not the heavy ordnance that's been bought up from several different sources in the past few days. Whatever's going on, it's big, and it's gonna happen soon."-**

The bartender handed a large bottle of booze to Luto, who proceeded to take a massive swig before continuing. - **"And I have a good idea who's behind it. They've tried to hide through intermediaries so far, but this whole thing stinks like only one guy in the galaxy. It's not his usual style to use proxies, but even so, I'd bet my life that the guy behind all of this is..."-**

A cough. **-"is C... wait... what—Hgk!"-**

Without warning, Luto went into a heavy coughing and gagging fit, clutching at his throat in intense pain; in a matter of seconds he collapsed to the floor and died. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the bartender who had delivered the offending drink running out through what was obviously the kitchen.

"Master Obi-Wan, look—"

"I saw him, Padawan! Hurry, we can't let him get away!"

With that, we vaulted over the bar and chased the assassin through the kitchen, avoiding the various pots, pans, and cookware thrown in our direction from the fleeing murderer. As we exited out the back, we quickly drew our lightsabers in response to a warning from the Force, blocking blaster fire from the assassin who had been lying in wait. Before we could continue to give chase, the mystery man leapt over the edge of a nearby balcony and onto a store awning one level below, continuing to the ground and trying to blend into a crowd.

Without hesitation, we leapt over the railing ourselves and continued the chase as best we could.

"Master, this guy is good. What if we lose him?"

Master Obi-Wan smirked, grabbing something out of his utility belt. "There are more ways than one to chase someone, Kevin."

* * *

The two Jedi chased their quarry relentlessly; the assassin in question had to use every ounce of his experience and familiarity with the surrounding area to evade them, charging through crowds and running through buildings in a desperate attempt to get away. He almost got caught—he could have sworn he felt a tug on his shirt as he ran towards a transport terminal—but in the end he barely managed to board the public speeder, smiling at the Jedi on the landing pad as the transport pulled away.

As much as he feared Jedi, he knew that at the very least they weren't in the business of executing criminals on the spot; his boss was different. On some level, he knew better than to trust a man with that kind of reputation—he was almost certain that the man would gladly kill him to avoid having to share the payout from their mutual employer. But partnering with a bounty hunter of such repute would almost certainly bolster his own reputation.

He smirked to himself, certain of his victory and completely unaware of a tiny device attached to the back of his shirt collar.

* * *

Elsewhere on Coruscant, Sheev Palpatine—or, as he called himself in secret, Darth Sidious—sat alone in his office, deep in thought. Recent events had forced him to move up several major plans that he had, and he was absolutely certain that the culprit was his current apprentice, Darth Tyranus. Truthfully, he had always known that Dooku's loyalty was entirely nominal—something that was, of course, par for the course when it came to Sith, and even essential to the Rule of Two. That being said, he had no intention of giving up his power to the man anytime soon, and that meant keeping an eye out for the inevitable attempt to betray him and responding accordingly. Palpatine had plenty of contingency plans in place, but for the time being the main Plan relied on Dooku remaining a credible threat to the Republic, which limited the manner in which he could retaliate against any treachery on the part of his apprentice. The treachery that he was certain had taken place was impossible to prove, and even more difficult to respond to. He had read the reports of the incident on Alderaan; the entire situation revolving around Aurra Sing and Asajj Ventress had Tyranus' handwriting all over it. Part of him had to congratulate Dooku on the brilliance and subtlety of the plan; hiring Sing in secret to set up an assassination attempt, have her drop a hint or two implicating a powerful enemy on Coruscant, which would inevitably draw the Jedi to look more closely at the Senate—something he definitely did not want to happen at this point in time. Ventress' execution of Sing only further sold the deception by diverting suspicion from Dooku. And the number of proxies the latter undoubtedly used to hire Sing would have made the deal untraceable, even if she had somehow survived.

Sidious snarled angrily under his breath; this was difficult to respond to indeed. In the end, the only contingency that he could currently come up with was one he had hoped to hold off on as a future trump card, but he had little choice. Besides, having Tyranus disown Ventress as an apprentice to prove his loyalty would still undoubtedly set whatever further treachery he had in mind back considerably.

 _A fine maneuver, Darth Tyranus,_ Palpatine thought with an evil smirk, _but this dejariik match has only just begun._

* * *

 _ **Sorry for the relatively short chapter; the plot is starting to thicken considerably and even with an outline it's getting tricky to plot out the specifics in a way that makes sense. Once I get past this arc—it should be over after the next chapter—things should be in place enough that I can work things out more easily going forward.**_

 _ ***SHATTERPOINT: a rare Force ability that grants the user the ability to perceive "fault lines" in individuals and situations that connected them to others, thus allowing one to gain limited insight into the particular significance of an individual or event. Mace Windu was known to have this ability. Also, it allowed one to see even microscopic weaknesses in a target that the user could exploit to utterly destroy the target in question.**_


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:** **_Sorry for the wait, everyone. Here's a new chapter to hopefully make up for it!_**

 _ **Disney owns Star Wars, and has recently bought most of Fox's stuff as well. The next logical step for them would probably involve buying the moon.**_

* * *

 **"...reports of CIS Bombing runs on planets such as Dathomir and Lotho Minor have increased fears of potential weapons testing in preparation for incursions into Republic Space; Supreme Chancellor Palpatine has stated that security is of the highest concern, and a vote on increased security measures is expected to occur in the Senate soon. In other news-"**

The holonet news feed switched off mid-sentence as Padme Amidala sighed. _This is the last thing we need right now. More fear, more paranoia... and more lost liberties._ Standing up, she walked towards the window and looked over the vast cityscape of Coruscant. If she were completely honest with herself, she didn't precisely DISLIKE Chancellor Palpatine. She understood his concerns all too well. But his growing authority and the emphasis on military victory and security over peace and liberty worried her more and more. A small voice in her mind told her that she wasn't worrying _nearly_ enough about Palpatine; for the first time, she wondered whether or not she ought to listen to it more carefully.

Almost without conscious thought, she placed her hand on her stomach; she found herself doing that more frequently of late, and she didn't quite know why. Before she could muse upon it, however, a welcome distraction occurred in the form of a familiar voice.

"Hello, Angel."

A playful smile crossed her face; she didn't need to turn around to know who it was. "Honestly, that's such a corny name. Don't you find it a bit much?"

Anakin wrapped his arms around her from behind, resting his head on her shoulder. "Better than the whole 'sand' thing I tried back on Naboo," he said with a chuckle. "Force, I was so stupid back then..."

"I wouldn't say stupid."

"Well, what _would_ you say?"

"Awkward, silly, ineloquent, unsophisticated..."

She twisted in his embrace, looking into his eyes. "...and sweet."

A few moments passed in silence; finally, they worked up the will to end the embrace. It took everything they had not to fall back into it.

"Ah! Master Anakin! How wonderful to see you again!"

C-3P0 entered, blissfully unaware of the precious moment he had just brutally trampled to death beneath his golden feet. Anakin responded with his usual half-exasperated smirk.

"Always nice to see you intact, Threepio."

"Would you care for me to bring you a refreshment, Master Anakin?"

"No," replied the Chosen One. "I think we'll both be fine. If you don't mind, Padme and I would like some privacy..."

"My apologies, Master. I will endeavor to—"

A raised hand cut Threepio off; getting the hint, the golden protocol droid walked out of the room, leaving the couple alone once more. Before Anakin could move to flirt again, he felt a brief pang of worry from Padme.

"What's wrong?"

"It's nothing, Ani. Just politics as usual... I _hate_ politics as usual."

They sat down next to each other, Anakin's arm around Padme's shoulder as she continued. "The surrender on Balith and the addition of more worlds into the League of Neutral Systems have given us more of a chance for peace, but no one seems to want to even consider it. It's all about winning the war... regardless of what we may end up losing in the process."

He tilted his head a bit. "Well, sometimes we need to make hard choices to end things faster."

"That's what Palpatine keeps saying—"

"And I agree with him. But Padme..."

He caressed her cheek. "I may not agree with you on the whole peace thing, and I honestly don't think there was ever a chance for it in the first place, not with Dooku. But that idealism... it's one of the things I love the most about you." A frown went across his face. "Sometimes, I think you're right. Sometimes I feel like this war is tapping into something inside me... a part of me that feels darker. But you... you take the dark away."

Another pause. Padme broke the silence this time, looking at Anakin with one of her "serious business" expressions. "Ani... I don't know how much longer we can keep this a secret. It feels like something is bound to slip soon..."

"You worry too much."

"Didn't you see Obi-Wan's expression when we got back from Alderaan? I think he suspects something."

Anakin flinched. "No, if he suspected something, he would have told the council and it would be over by now."

"But isn't he your friend?"

"Well, yes—I mean, no—I mean..." he stood up in a huff. "I don't know. I trust him, I really do, but you know how much he believes in the code. He drove that into me from day one."

"Something tells me he would understand more than you think, Ani."

He looked at her quizzically. "What do you mean?"

"I was speaking to Duchess Satine of Mandalore in a recent talk, and his name came up. Something about the way she spoke of him... it made me think of us."

"What? Obi-Wan 'attachments lead to suffering' Kenobi? You're kidding." Anakin gave an almost disbelieving chuckle.

"Call it 'woman's intuition', Ani. I'm not saying there's anything going on between them, and I'm DEFINITELY not saying that we should just up and tell him. But there's a chance he might be more sympathetic than you think, and if something _does_ come up that we can't hide... I feel like we could trust him more than anyone else in the galaxy."

He sat down again, a look of genuine concern on his face. "What do you mean, 'if something does come up'? Is something wrong now?"

She sighed, leaning against him as her hand once again moved to her stomach. "No, it's probably nothing... just nerves, I guess..."

* * *

The man quietly entered the room, eyes darting from side to side. "Hey, boss? You here?"

"Keep your voice a bit lower, Halern. Coruscant's got eyes and ears everywhere."

He turned around to see his employer, emerging from the shadows like some phantom. Intimidating, to say the least.

"Yeah, yeah. I got what you asked for, by the way. Wasn't easy, though..."

"Something go wrong?"

The man nodded. "Yeah. I already got handed the datachip from our contact, but then I overheard someone about to say your name to some Jedi and his padawan and had to shut him up. They gave me a kriff of a chase, but I managed to slip away."

"This Jedi," his employer replied, "Was it a human male, 'bout yay high, facial hair and a High Coruscanti accent?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Idiot. He bugged you."

"What do you me—AAAUGH!"

A blaster shot rang out. "You don't just 'slip away' from Obi-Wan Kenobi. He's too persistent."

The dead man's employer turned toward another shadowy corner of the room. "Isn't that right, Kenobi?"

Two lightsabers activated in response.

* * *

Thanks to the tracking bug Master Obi-Wan planted on the assassin, we managed to track the guy down to an abandoned sublevel of the Senate building. As we circled the area in our speeder looking for a discreet landing point, Master Obi-Wan spoke to me.

"Listen carefully, Kevin. If the man behind our assassin is the man whose name I suspect Va'Gota was going to speak, then we will have to approach this with the utmost caution. He's known for ambush tactics and laying traps, so simply sneaking up on him, while wise, is not an easy task. We don't have time for a formal lesson, so for now just watch me closely, observe what I do with the Force, and try to replicate it as best as you possibly can."

I nodded, centering myself a bit as we finally landed. Disembarking, I followed Master Obi-Wan's advice and observed him carefully, focusing on him through the Force so as to avoid missing any details on whatever he was about to do. I watched as he guided the Force around him, shifting air currents and slowing his breathing to almost a halt; once he did so, he gestured for me to watch as he demonstrated what he had just done, then took his hand and smacked the ground with an open palm as hard as he could... but no sound emerged.

A method for silencing one's movements and actions through the Force? That seemed rather advanced. _But Master Obi-Wan wouldn't have shown me if he didn't think I could pull it off,_ I thought. I managed to get it right on the first try, but it wasn't nearly as clean as his own application, and I had to focus to keep it up.

The two of us silently moved through the darkened area until we heard voices; I was pretty certain that I recognized one of them. As we entered the room, a blaster shot startled me enough that a small, barely audible gasp escaped my lips... which was evidently enough to be heard. The man who fired the shot turned right to our location and taunted us, revealing himself as one of the deadliest non-Force wielders in the Galaxy: Cad Bane.

Our cover blown, Master Obi-Wan and I activated our lightsabers in response. "I suspected we would meet again, Bane. What might your game be this time?"

"You honestly think I'll explain, Kenobi?"

"Not really. Hope springs eternal, though."

Cad Bane chuckled. "If you're looking for hope... you're in the wrong Galaxy."

Suddenly, he threw a grenade in our direction, forcing us to leap for cover as he followed up with a hail of blaster fire. "Your new padawan needs to work on being quiet. Not that he'll get the chance."

I felt the Force screaming a warning in my head as another grenade rolled next to me; I barely had enough time to leap away yet again, moving straight into the line of fire and only just managing to block the blaster bolts sent in my direction. I knew from the show that Bane was skilled, but facing him in person gave me a whole new appreciation for just HOW skilled he was.

I felt Master Obi-Wan speak in my head telepathically as he tried advancing on Bane, only to be forced to deflect a barrage of blaster bolts. _Are you alright, Kevin?_

 _Yeah,_ I replied, trying to attack from behind only for Bane to coolly level one of his blasters in my direction without even looking.

"You got guts, kid. But you might wanna leave this stuff to the professionals. It's dangerous." he taunted, firing. His aim was flawless; it was all I could do to block the bolts and move to cover again.

"Surely you don't think you can win this, Bane," Master Obi-Wan said. "my padawan may be unseasoned, but you're hardly in an advantageous position yourself."

"True. Just one problem, Kenobi..." Bane said, tossing a smoke bomb and backing off. "I'm not _trying_ to win. I'm trying to _stall._ "

Searching for him through the Force, I found nothing. "I'm guessing you're wondering why you can't feel me through the Force," Bane said. "Well, you ever heard of a little thing called a Ysalamiri? 'Course you have, one of your lightsaber forms is named for it. I won't bore you with too many details, but the critter has the ability to make a sort of 'Force cloak' to hide itself; even the most powerful Jedi can't sense it when it's hiding. I got one hidden in my jacket for just such an occasion... but don't worry, I know how to share. In fact, I'm gonna let you have eight of them... packaged along with the bombs I hid in the Senate chambers. Good luck finding all of them before they go off—shouldn't take more than an hour or so."

"Blast! Looks like we'll have to let him go this time," Master Obi-Wan shouted. "Hurry back to the speeder, Kevin—we have to stop those bombs somehow!"

As we lifted off, Master Obi-Wan took out his commlink and sent out a warning to the relevant officials to evacuate the senate. I spent the ride wondering how in the Force we were going to find those bombs in time, empty house or no. We managed to make it to the chambers quickly enough, a number of Senate Guards with bomb squad equipment in tow.

"Master, if these bombs have Ysalamiri with them, how are we going to find them?"

Master Obi-Wan looked at me with utter calm. "I'm not going to find them, Kevin. _You_ are." He cut short my reply with the same calm tone. "Your sensory abilities are greater than most of the Order, padawan. You may not be able to see them, but you can sense ambient Force energies better than even I can, and at a greater range. And that means you can sense where that ambient energy _isn't_ as well."

"But I've never tried stretching out that far—"

"Remember Master Yoda's favorite words. Do, or do not..."

 _There is no try,_ I remembered. He was right; I may not have near the power or skill of a full knight, but my senses had a use all their own. Taking a few breaths to calm my nerves as best as possible, I reached out with my feelings as far as they could go.

The effect was dramatic; suddenly, I could see EVERYTHING in the entire chamber at once—hundreds of meters in every direction. It took every ounce of focus I had to not let the sheer amount of information overwhelm me, but with Master Obi-Wan's presence steadying me, I was able to maintain control. I quickly started honing in on the ambient energy in the massive chamber, seeing the flow of residual life energy moving through every inch of the place... every inch but eight points, scattered throughout the chambers. I calmly began pointing out the locations to the Senate Guards and was almost done before something unexpected happened.

I received a vision of a red glow; to my shock, it was the same image as the one I saw on Alderaan! This time, however, the image was clearer than a simple red glow; I was able to make out a lightsaber as well, a single-bladed curved hilt. As the image cleared even more, I noticed something else that surprised me: I couldn't make out whose lightsaber it was, but I somehow knew that it didn't belong to Ventress. Not Ventress. Not Sidious. Not Maul or Savage. And not Dooku. This was someone entirely new.

Suddenly, I found myself back in the chamber. "Master—"

"Don't worry, they've found the last of them, Kevin. You did well."

I was about to tell Master Obi-Wan what I had just seen when I suddenly felt an objection from the Force. What was it about this new player that I couldn't say anything? And more importantly, _who_ was it?

* * *

"I understand completely, Master. Your will shall be done." As Darth Sidious ended the holocall, Dooku managed to hide a smirk. _Ordering me to disown Ventress... precisely the response I expected._

Before Dooku could internally gloat further, the holocomm beeped again; answering the call, an image of Cad Bane appeared.

 **"Plan went off without a hitch. Gotta say, you're about as crafty as they come, Dooku."**

"I assume that means you acquired the data on Krennic's hyperdrive experiments?"

 **"Sending it to you right now. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say you honestly wouldn't have minded much if the Jedi got their hands on it either, huh?"**

"You are quite perceptive, bounty hunter, but I would advise you not to pry further into my plans. I will likely have need of you further, but that depends on the level of trust I can afford to give you."

 **"Only an idiot trusts a guy like me, and you're no idiot, Dooku. But don't worry, whatever your plans are, I don't care so long as you keep the credits coming. Nice doing business with you."**

The call shut off once again, Dooku looking at the newly received information on his datapad. He smiled again; it was almost too good to be true. Sidious was _behind_ the level of his own people's experiments, which meant that his master was relatively unaware of his scientists' attempts to make their own version of Sidious' planned superweapon, among other things. That said, the intended application the data clearly pointed to worried him; if Sidious could develop a way to _point_ the device at someone, then Sidious wasn't _far_ behind, and what such a device could reveal to his master would almost certainly ruin his own plans. He would have to accelerate his plan considerably once Kamino had been dealt with.

Dooku steeled his resolve. _This is only the beginning. The true game starts here..._

* * *

Anakin Skywalker stood on a balcony in the Temple, looking out across the city at the sunset. A familiar presence made itself known; turning to meet it, he gave a casual smirk.

"Well, Kenobi, looks like you didn't need my help this time."

"We need to talk, Anakin."

Anakin frowned, looking at his former master's expression. His frown deepened when Obi-Wan spoke the words he dreaded more than any other:

"Anakin, I _know._ I know about you and Padme."

Even though he had braced himself, hearing that sentence awoke a small panic in Anakin. "Obi-Wan, I know I broke the code, but you can't tell the council—"

"I have no intention of telling them, Anakin. Your secret is safe with me."

That wasn't what he expected to hear. "What?"

"You may not believe this, but... I have had my own doubts about that part of the code lately. I did some reading on the Jedi of old, and saw examples that only confirmed those doubts—examples such as Bastille Shan. Jedi who, far from being destroyed by love, were _saved_ by it. I know how much Padme means to you, and I see now that she is the anchor for you that I could never be. But I also know that you fear for her, and that the burden of your secret weighs heavily on you."

Overwhelmed by the words, Anakin found himself unable to respond for a while. Finally, he mustered up the courage to speak. "What... what do you intend to do, then? Why tell me that you know?"

Obi-Wan sighed. "Anakin, you are more than my former padawan; you are my brother. So if you believe nothing else, believe this: I will never let any harm come to Padme, not while I am present. You don't have to carry your burden alone. You will _never_ have to carry it alone ever again. I swear it."

* * *

 _ **The plot thickens! Next time, we finally get to Kamino... and after that, all bets are off!**_


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N:** ** _There are a couple of reasons for the wait this time; one is your average IRL crap, the other is excellent news (at least for me). The good first: I AM NOW AN INDIE VIDEO GAME COMPOSER! I am already working on my first soundtrack for someone's RPG Maker MV game, and hopefully that will turn into more offers in the future. The IRL crap is college math. Ugh._**

 ** _Disney owns Star Wars. The Mouse may have tainted Star Wars with the cinematic skidmark that is The Last Jedi, but at least they don't own or control fanfic_ ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL.**

* * *

After the initial shock of the vision I had seen during the bomb incident—which, surprise surprise, led Palpatine to propose extensive privacy-violating "security" laws—wore off, I realized something: all three instances of the vision involving the lightsaber to date had occurred while I was stretching my senses outward or otherwise immersing myself in the force through meditation. With that in mind, I decided to try and train my sensory abilities as far as I could whenever I wasn't practicing anything else in hopes of somehow triggering another vision, hopefully clearer than the others. Sadly, no matter how hard I focused or how far I stretched out, no more visions came. That's not to say the practice didn't have SOME benefit; after all, my sensory abilities were my greatest asset, and while it didn't have the obvious combat applications of, say, telekinesis or sustained physical augmentation, I was sure that if I thought about it hard enough I could find some way to utilize it in a life-or-death situation.

I already knew from prior experience that my ability to perceive my surroundings was beyond that of many knights, and would probably only get better as time went on; useful for avoiding ambushes, but not much help in an actual fight. So I decided to see what would happen if I turned my trump card in the other direction: rather than stretching out and trying to see as much as possible, I would narrow my focus to as fine a point as I could. As it turned out, this resulted in a supercharged version of Concentration ***** ; with only a few extra days' practice, I was already taking a small marble-sized pebble and finger-flicking it at the same nanometer-wide point with perfect accuracy again and again. This was pretty cool to be sure, but I knew the next fight I probably wouldn't involve blowing up a Death Star, so what practical use such a skill would have was something that I would just have to find out through experience. As for my lightsaber skills, the extra training in Form V I got from Ahsoka and Anakin was finally paying off; I had finally succeeded in learning the fluid riposte, and learned a few good offensive strikes that I could easily transition into from it. Master Obi-Wan even decided that I was ready to start on some of the more advanced methods of Soresu. With all the progress I had made, I was fairly confident that if I ran into Ventress again—assuming that I wasn't fighting alone—I wouldn't be as utterly dominated as I was the last time. I knew for a fact that I wouldn't be able to take on someone of that level in a straight-up fight, but hopefully with my improved combat abilities and the continued instruction in strategy and tactics from Master Obi-Wan, I'd be able to avoid death long enough to find a way to get out of such a fight with my life and limbs intact.

My training aside, though, it was clear that events were still barreling towards the culmination of Sidious' plans; the bombing attempt by Cad Bane gave Palpatine an excuse to propose the aforementioned surveillance laws, a proposal that was only BARELY defeated by a coalition of votes by Padme and Bail Organa, who took full advantage of the progress with the League of Neutral Systems to make the immediate threats seem slightly less frightening to the rest of the senate. But because their success was so slim, it was extremely unlikely that they would be able to prevent it from being passed if Sidious and his allies put it back for another vote (which, of course he would). I also caught some other news that gave me pause; evidently there were CIS bombing runs on Lotho Minor and Dathomir which wiped out a good number of the largest settlements on those worlds. Something about those planets seemed familiar to me, but at the time I couldn't quite place where I knew them from. If only I had known then...

"Kevin, pack your things. We need to leave immediately."

I looked up from my meditations to see Master Obi-Wan entering the training room, looking worried. "What is it?"

"An attack has occurred on Rishi Station; we managed to intercept a transmission between Asajj Ventress and General Grievous. It seems the Separatists have designs on Kamino."

And there it was. The big one. This was an event I had been dreading and training for, and I was about to find out just what that training was worth. After grabbing all the essentials I could, I rushed to the transport to find Ahsoka and Anakin together. In the series, Anakin and Master Obi-Wan went without her (in canon, they were in transit when they got the message, not at the temple); that welcome change helped to ease a few nerves. _Who knows, maybe with all four of us here, plus Master Ti, we could get rid of Grievous and Ventress altogether._

As we travelled aboard the _Negotiator_ towards Kamino, however, nerves of a different sort showed up when I met the clones for the first time. For beings who were literally bred to be soldiers using the DNA of one of the deadliest warriors of his day, each and every one was nice as they could be. Identical appearance aside, they seemed both refreshingly and frighteningly _normal_ , telling jokes, listening to music, laughing, and reminiscing with each other. The Force kept me from speaking out, and for once I considered ignoring it because of the sheer sorrow I was feeling about this. I quickly found myself heading for an empty area to sit down and try and clear my thoughts, but the feeling remained, nagging at me.

 _This is basically a slave army. This is wrong._

"Kevin?"

I looked up from my musings to see Master Obi-Wan standing over me, a sad look on his face; evidently he had picked up on my feelings.

"Master Obi-Wan, I—"

"You're right."

I wasn't expecting that. Master Obi-Wan continued, kneeling in front of me and putting a hand on my shoulder.

"Once again, my young padawan, you wear your thoughts on your sleeve; I know what your worry was, and you are absolutely right, Kevin. They are as much victims of this war as they are soldiers; they deserve better. And once the war is over, they'll get it."

I shook my head sadly. "The Kaminoans see the clones as products, not people. They won't ever allow them to be free, even after the war, not without a lot of pressure from the Senate. And..."

Suddenly, the "revealing canon = bad idea™" feeling from the Force relaxed, just a bit; this was an opportunity to change something.

"...And there's something wrong with them. In their heads. Something they don't even know about."

Master Obi-Wan stood up, a rare expression of confusion on his face. "Did you sense something from them? What was it?"

"I don't know. But while we're here, maybe we ought to look at the clone records. Without the Kaminoans' knowledge."

* * *

Dooku sat alone in his private chambers on Serenno, looking over the various holos, documents, and datapads arrayed in front of him with carefully tempered pride. Everything was falling into place; all the unecessary players had been removed from the field, save for Ventress and Caller, and if he was correct in his assumptions about Palpatine's next move then said padawan would be temporarily out of his way—giving him plenty of time to turn the tables on his master before unleashing his own plan.

He chuckled to himself. _I truly was a fool._ His _fool. But no longer. Soon,_ I _will be the master._

* * *

 _ **"** **The device will operate as promised, Supreme Chancellor, but I am still somewhat unsure of the purpose of it all; why not simply design a bomb or a laser? This doesn't destroy, it transports."**_

"You are not required to know, Lieutenant Commander Krennic... and you would do best to avoid asking questions in the future. Be sure that it is ready to deploy at the appointed place and time, or there will be grave consequences. You are dismissed."

The holocall ended, leaving Sidious to his thoughts. Ordinarily, he would simply have the mysterious young padawan killed for certain and be done with it, but at this stage he could not afford to risk suspicion from the Order, and a vanished boy leaves fewer trails than a dead one. Once the republic fell, he would be free to deal with that particular loose end whenever he wished, but with Dooku clearly prodding the Jedi towards the Senate, he needed to use careful misdirection to allay their suspicion and keep them occupied.

 _"Ah, Anakin, General Kenobi, I am terribly sorry for what happened to young Caller. Rest assured, I will do everything in my power to help you locate the poor boy!"_

 _"How sad, Anakin, that the Order would not allow me to aid in the search for padawan Caller. I fear they are losing sight of their ideals if the fate of a boy matters so little to them!"_

If it all went according to plan—and there was no reason for it not to—then he would remove a hydrospanner in the works from the equation and further divide the Chosen One from the Jedi Order. Dooku was still an issue, but all that his apprentice's scheming would accomplish would be that the Plan would be put into action sooner rather than later; there was no stopping a long con one thousand years in the making.

But first, Kamino. The Plan would work regardless of the outcome of the war—whichever army had the clones, or did not have them, meant nothing in the end.

The hidden Sith Lord grinned viciously. _Let Tyrannus scheme. He has no inkling of the true plot. The end begins with Kamino._

* * *

The arrival on Kamino and the briefing with Master Shaak Ti and Prime Minister Lama Su went more or less as canon, save for me and Ahsoka being there for it all; even when we got to the spaceport control center (which had been converted into a war room to observe the space battle), things didn't change much. It wasn't until the space battle began that things changed—and this time, it was our side making the difference.

 ** _"_ RSS Onasi** _ **to Command! CIS Fleet sighted, shots fired! Requesting fighter support!"**_

"Strange," Master Obi-Wan said, "I would think Dooku would send a larger fleet."

Anakin shared a nod with my master, then with Ahsoka. "Well, they're about to get smaller. Ahsoka, stay here and help with the defense. I'll go with the fighter squadrons."

As the battle began in earnest, Lama Su watched the CIC display with a calm expression. Beneath the surface, however, he was experiencing mild panic in spite of the solid resistance the blockade was putting up.

I know this because I was rummaging around in his head while he was distracted. Super Sense Powers for the win!

"Something's not right," Master Obi-Wan said, slowly recognizing the separatists' real plan.

 _ **"** **I'm going to press the attack, Master."**_

"No, Anakin. Wait. It's too easy; not even Grievous would attack so recklessly."

 _ **"** **Master, the battle's up here in space—not down there."**_

"The debris from the destroyed Separatist ships is the key," Master Obi-Wan replied before turning to me and Master Ti. "I'm going to go for a bit of a swim. Kevin, Ahsoka, I think you two should go and help organize the ground forces just in case."

Once we all left the room, Master Obi-Wan stopped and addressed us quickly. "Did you find anything, Kevin?"

I smiled. "Prime Minister Su didn't have much in the way of mental defenses; I managed to get his administer override password."

"Good. That should get you into the clone database without much trouble. Both of you, stick together and make sure to actually rendezvous with the troopers once you're done investigating to help allay suspicion; we're breaking more than a few rules here. Good luck!"

With that, he ran off to do his thing while Ahsoka and I made our way to the cloning facilities. Once we located the database room, I entered the Lama Su's password while Ahsoka stood watch outside the room. The computer was surprisingly user-friendly, and it wasn't long before I found some suspicious-looking files hidden deep inside. Unfortunately, my excitement turned to horror once I looked through them.

In the movies, Order 66 was horrifying to watch. In the series, the episodes involving the conspiracy were almost as bad. But here, where it was all real, looking at the files that even Fives didn't see practically punched me in the gut, because as it turned out those files contained no less than the actual programming for Order 66.

One of the worst things about it was that it read like just that—programming.

 **# if: trigger = y**

 **#### previous orders: drop**

 **#### conscious thought: drop**

 **#### Target: Jedi**

 **####### Kill**

 **# end**

Something about it made me sick to my stomach. Clones or not, these were living, thinking, feeling, breathing people, and the Kaminoans were programming them like they were just machines, even having a switch to basically steal away their free will. Puppets, slaves to be used and discarded.

Well, not if I could help it. After copying the files to my datapad, I looked around the files some more, hoping to find something, anything that could help me fix the problem. Fortunately, I found the answer: regular "software update" procedures to ensure that the trigger was always fresh in every trooper's subconscious. _That must have been where the glitch with Tup in the show happened._ The procedure was completely automatic... which meant that the Kaminoans hopefully wouldn't notice if someone had, say, changed the program a bit:

 **# if: trigger = y**

 **#### previous orders: drop**

 **#### Target: Jedi**

 **####### Protect**

 **#### all triggers: drop**

 **# end**

Thank the Force for my computer savvy back on Earth. _Hope I got the language right on that last part..._ I quickly copied the new programming to the first file, changed the admin password, and logged off before leaving the room.

Ahsoka turned to me as I walked through the door. "Did you find what you were looking for?"

I nodded gravely. "Yeah. It wasn't pretty; we can talk about it with our Masters later. For now, let's get to the front—"

"We meet again, children."

A wave of Dark Side energy announced the entrance of the last person in the galaxy Ahsoka and I ever wanted to encounter again. Asajj Ventress stepped out of the shadows, glaring at the datapad in my hand.

"That looks quite interesting. I would ask you to hand it over..."

She smiled wickedly, activating her twin lightsabers. "...but that would take all the fun out of it. Let's begin, shall we?"

* * *

 _ **I don't think I have to tell you that things are about to get a bit crazy. Sorry about the cliffhanger here, but I need to work on the Ventress fight a bit longer (not to mention that the Obi-Wan/Grievous fight will go a tad differently). See you next time!**_

 _ ***Concentration: a canon force ability that slows perception of time and allows for extreme pinpoint targeting, among other things (most notably used by Luke to blow up the Death Star)**_


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N:** ** _No, I'm not dead! Just finishing up college math and working on music commissions. Also, the Grievous fight scenes were an utter pain to write._**

 _ **Disney owns Star Wars, and they are apparently intent on running it into the ground. All shall fear the Mouse.**_

* * *

Ventress began casually approaching us in a Makashi stance as Ahsoka and I activated our lightsabers. I almost began to panic; the last time we fought Ventress, we barely survived, and even with our improved skills I somehow knew that we would never beat her in a straight-up fight. That's when I recalled Master Obi-Wan's teachings:

" _Breathe. Let the Force flow through you, let it guide your blade to where it must go. A master of Soresu must be the calm at the center of the storm."_

Closing my eyes briefly and centering myself, I stepped back into a defensive posture as the fight began; Ventress' skill was still deadly, and to this day I am absolutely certain that if she had been fighting us seriously we would both have died then and there. But by calming myself, I was able to think more clearly. As we were, neither of us could hope to beat her in a straight-up fight; then again, if Ahsoka and I played things right, we wouldn't have to. I continued to think on the strategy lessons from Master Obi-Wan as we defended against her assault:

" _The Dark Side is powerful, but those who follow it pay a heavy price; the more they give in to the darkness within, the greater their arrogance becomes. Allow that arrogance to blind them while you remain safe behind your defenses. Let their rage clash harmlessly against your passive guard, and be mindful of your surroundings, watching carefully for any possible advantage or opportunity."_

Ahsoka and I were holding out fairly well, allowing Ventress to "play" with us as I stretched out with my senses—my best and only real advantage over the Sith assassin—and searched for a way to turn the tide while allowing the Force to guide my blocks and parries for me. It didn't take long for me to see a way out; I spoke to Ahsoka telepathically.

 _ **We need to take five more steps back, then cut a hole in the floor beneath us.**_

She responded, her mind giving away her internal worry at our opponent. _**Why?**_

 _ **Three reasons: because a narrow hallway like this one serves her style better then either of ours, because that part of the floor has the fewest things between it and the next floor down... and because the room directly below us is a large mess hall. A large mess hall that currently has emergency lighting only.**_

Ahsoka nodded as we moved into position, carefully maintaining the illusion of fear.

"Hmph," Ventress pouted, her arrogance on full display. "And here I thought you'd give me at least a small amount of amusement. Sadly, it seems the Jedi have neglected to train you since our last encounter..."

Now it was time for us to smirk as we stood back-to-back, Ahsoka responding with the same cocky attitude she had clearly learned from Anakin. "You want to be amused? Let's play tag, then! Follow us if you can!"

Before the Sith could react, we span in place, cutting a hole in the floor before unleashing a combined telekinetic surge downward and causing us to fall to the level below before using the Force to soften the landing. With a larger area to maneuver in and a great deal of clutter and furniture to maneuver over and around, she would no longer have the terrain advantage she had enjoyed in the hallway above. As expected, Ventress followed, landing shortly after we moved out of the way and preparing to resume the fight.

"Clever, children. But if you think a simple change in scenery will save-"

She was interrupted by a large bowl full of abandoned food being sent flying in her direction, covering her in the now-curdled remains of an interrupted lunch.

"Tag!"

" _Remember, Kevin, the Dark Side feeds off of anger, hatred, and aggression. This is the source from which its practitioners derive most of their power. But that power, like their anger, is easily turned against them; while you remain calm and centered in the Light, incite them and insult them, make them lose control of that anger, and_ you _will gain_ _control of_ them. _You may then use that control to turn the fight in your favor. The Dark Side is its own worst enemy."_

A low, bestial growl erupted from Ventress. "You... little... brats..."

I managed to cover my fear of her death glare with a mocking laugh. "What's wrong, Ventress? Didn't like that dish? Have another!"

With that, Ahsoka and I began alternating roles, one of us engaging her in bladework while the other pelted her with anything that wasn't nailed down, thus keeping her attention divided and preventing her from going for a straight-up kill while simultaneously adding to her growing annoyance, which further increased her distracted state of mind; that being said, her skill level was still high enough above ours that this amounted to little more than a stalling tactic that, in the long run, would only delay the inevitable. Fortunately, Soresu and Shien/Djem So (both being excellent defensive styles) were great at stalling tactics. The fight continued in this manner, at least until a "stray" plate struck the panel controlling the emergency lighting, sending the room into complete darkness save for the glow of our lightsabers.

Ventress chuckled slightly, her anger still simmering underneath as we continued the barrage of plates and food. "Heh. You think darkness is your ally? Foolish child. I was BORN in the dark." She took advantage of a brief lull in my offense to force me onto my back foot and take the initiative.

Now, one particular thing about using the Force to see instead of using your eyes is that unless you are either a sensory prodigy, a Soresu specialist, a god-tier duelist, or have absolutely amazing control, if you're in an actual fight and are already dealing with attacks from several different directions at once then your Force Sight is mostly limited to knowing THAT things are coming your way rather than actually seeing specifically WHAT is coming your way, as you have to focus most of your attention on not getting killed. Thanks to my strong sensory powers and the multitasking skills I had developed under Master Obi-Wan's tutelage, I could "see" her just as clearly in darkness as I could have in full light, even with the whole combat thing going on. But I also knew that _she_ couldn't "see" _me_ nearly as well outside of what our lightsabers illuminated, which was essentially just a couple of feet or so in front of us, if that.

Which meant that she also couldn't see that the reason for the aforementioned lull in my offense was that I, not Ahsoka, was now pelting her with plates while simultaneously defending with my lightsaber.

Or that Ahsoka herself was currently taking advantage of the distraction by preparing to throw something much bigger. Like, for instance, the large and rather heavy chunk of ceiling/floor that we had cut out.

Makashi is good at many things, but geared toward stopping massive impacts it is not, a point proven by the shocked expression on her face as the debris smashed into her like a wrecking ball, sending her crashing through an exterior door. That may not have been enough to remove her from the fight completely—as evidenced by Ventress' shriek of rage as she got back to her feet, the rain falling upon the balcony on which she had landed soaking her to the bone—but the bruises and blood were apparent, and the deranged look on her face told us all Ahsoka and I needed to know.

Ventress had lost control of her anger. But the fight was far from over.

* * *

"Don't let your personal feelings get in the way of the mission." That was something that Obi-Wan had drilled into Anakin as often as he could; little did Skywalker know that the reminder was as much for Kenobi as for him. For all that Kenobi had professed concerning a Jedi's need for impartiality and a lack of attachment, deep down Obi-Wan knew that he had become attached to his first apprentice as almost a little nephew, and later a younger brother. Now a similar attachment had grown towards his newest apprentice, but with more paternal undertones, an attachment he knew Anakin had for Ahsoka. Now that he no longer hid from that truth, however, he found himself struggling alongside Anakin to resist the temptation to rush to the aid of their padawans.

 _But non-Jedi soldiers have to struggle with that sort of temptation all the time,_ Kenobi reflected. _If they can feel such attachment, admit such attachment, draw on that attachment as a source of strength, and not have it jeopardize their duty or compromise their morals... then so can the Jedi._

It was that thought that allowed Kenobi to maintain his usual exterior calm as he directed the defense of Kamino, still not-quite-recovered from his brief "swim" and subsequent discovery of/narrow escape from the enemy's hidden fleet of assault craft.

 _ **"** **Master, I can't find a good spot to land—"**_

"We need you in the air right now, Anakin!" Obi-Wan spoke hurriedly into the commlink while deflecting blaster fire. "Keep up the runs against the assault craft so that we don't get completely swamped here!"

 _ **"** **Ahsoka and Kevin are down there somewhere with Ventress! They're not ready for that kind of fight!"**_

"I know, Anakin. But if Kamino falls, then we all die anyway. We will just have to trust in their ability to follow what we've taught them so far."

Anakin remained silent for a few moments; Obi-Wan was briefly worried that his former apprentice would give in to temptation and chase after Ventress, battle or no. It wouldn't have been out of character in the past, so it came as a major surprise to hear the eventual reply.

 _ **"** **You're right. I still don't like it, but I trust your judgement. Broadside, form on my wing, let's take some of the heat off the ground forces!"**_

Before Obi-Wan could properly register the bizzarely _reasonable_ response from his former apprentice, a metallic blur shot out of the nearest landing craft and practically tore apart the nearby clone troopers before turning its baleful gaze upon the Jedi Master.

"Kenobi! How nice to see you again!"

A pair of lightsabers activated in unison as General Grievous taunted his prey. Obi-Wan remained unmoved by the display. "I'm afraid I cannot share the sentiment, General. You've made a serious mistake in attacking Kamino."

Grievous leapt forward, giving Kenobi little time to react before the Jedi Master became entirely preoccupied with defending against the hurricane of strikes, slashes, and stabs from Grievous' twin blades. Against any lesser Jedi, this barrage would be nearly instantly lethal; indeed, there were few Jedi even among the current Masters of the order who could claim to long withstand such an offense. Fortunately, two of those Jedi were on Kamino, and Kenobi himself was the greater duelist of the two. Remaining calm, he allowed the force to take control completely, trusting it to guide his actions and movements, thus freeing his mind to focus on his surroundings, as well as on utilizing his considerable tactical brilliance. The servos and microcomputers in Grievous' cyborg body allowed for up to nearly twenty strikes per second, each one unique and from a different direction, but all of them failed to penetrate the ultimate defense of Kenobi's Form III. Around them, the battle continued to rage; battle droids clashed with clone troopers, but all combatants regardless of affiliation gave the pair a wide berth lest they be caught up in a fierce duel that was beyond their ability to survive.

In an attempt to surprise Kenobi, Grievous engaged his second pair of arms while in blade-lock, grabbing the Jedi Master by the neck and preparing to crush his windpipe. Kenobi responded with a strong force-push to Grievous' midsection, throwing the cyborg back and forcing him to release his death grip. Sensing that further direct confrontation was unlikely to result in a victory, Grievous scampered off to find a more suitable battleground, with Obi-Wan not far behind.

The chase led them to a small supply shuttle landing pad attached to a walkway between facilities; as the two engaged once again, Grievous sent out a silent command over CIS channels, carefully playing the role of cornered prey. For once, Kenobi seemed to fall for the act.

"It seems your assault has failed, General," the Jedi Master said, gesturing to the large number of destroyed assault craft, the few that remained either fighting to the last or fleeing the planet. "I would recommend you surrender to me while you still can; I doubt you'll receive such an offer from anyone else."

Grievous paused as if to think it over, only to fail to keep his dejariik face intact when he received the reply from his subordinates that he had been waiting for. "Why should I surrender to a _dead man?_ "

The landing pad shook from the blow of the attacking assault craft below, giving Grievous time to leap onto the lead gunship in a small squadron of them that had risen from the waves. "Time to become one with the Force, Jedi—"

A barrage of laser cannon blew through a good chunk of the squadron, sending their volley flying far off-course. Grievous barely managed to stay on board his own ship before Kenobi used the force to leap onto the gunship with him; as such, while his own counterattack kept him from immediate death, he was helpless to prevent Obi-Wan from destroying the droid pilot and slashing the control panel, crippling the aircraft.

Kenobi leapt off the gunship and onto a passing Jedi fighter, its own pilot giving him a salute and a sly grin. "Enjoy your flight, General!"

Grievous barely managed to choke out one last foul curse in Kaleesh towards the Jedi and everything they stood for before his world erupted in fire.

* * *

There is one important detail to keep in mind when fighting a Sith or other similar dark siders, one that surprisingly DIDN'T come up in Master Obi-Wan's lessons. Namely that, while angering them is a good way to trick them into losing control, it's also a good way to ensure that they get a pretty serious boost in killing power. Looking back, it's a rather obvious addendum, but it isn't until you see a seriously pissed-off Sith woman look at you like she wants to set you ablaze with her glare alone before devouring your finely-cooked liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti that you realize just how much trouble that strategy can get you in if you're not careful.

The surge of Sith Lightning that Ventress unleashed at Ahsoka and me nearly killed us both; as it was, we barely managed to dodge the deadly spray of dark side energy before a strong telekinetic surge followed and almost took our feet out from under us.

"I'm going to take my time tearing you LIMB FROM LIMB!" Ventress shrieked. One lightsaber of hers had flown over the side of the balcony into the raging waters far below, but with the frenzied offense she was now unleashing that single lightsaber was more than enough to force us back. The speed of her strikes was impressive before, but now it was even more frightening, leaving us with little room to do anything other then defend and hope for her to tire out before we did; as the fight continued, though, it was clear that her reserves were greater than ours, and that if something didn't change soon we would quickly find ourselves cut to ribbons by the angry murderess.

That change came in the form of a stray turbolaser blast exploding a bit below the balcony, causing it to briefly shudder under our feet. Ventress recovered first, thrusting out her arm in my direction and sending me barreling over the side of the balcony; it took all that I had to direct my fall with the Force and find a handhold on an exterior wall a bit below and to the side of the platform, nearly letting go in a panic as the datapad with the evidence against Palpatine fell from its holster on my utility belt and was lost. I wasn't alone in my fear, though, as I could sense Ahsoka barely holding her own against Ventress several meters above me.

 _She won't last much longer... what do I do?_

As I stretched out my senses, trying to find a way back up to the balcony, I sensed something strange; it was almost like a system of "cracks" floating around everything, all connected in a vast web. Following the system led me to lay eyes on one of the supports for the balcony platform; it had been damaged somewhat by the stray shell from earlier. To the naked eye, it would appear to have remained untouched—indeed, whatever damage had been done to it was small enough as to be microscopic—but the "cracks" in the force around it all converged onto a single spot, barely a nanometer wide. A sole, potentially devastating weakness in an otherwise strong structure.

 _ **Ahsoka!**_ I let out a telepathic warning.

 _ **Kevin, are you okay? Hurry, I can't stop her!**_

 _ **Ahsoka, when I tell you to, leap back into the doorway!**_

I used my free hand to prepare a force push, one far more condensed than any I had done before, all focused on that single weakness.

 _ **AHSOKA, NOW!**_

With a loud "crack", the weakness in the support beam became a massive rupture; a second, less focused force push took it out entirely, causing the section of the balcony above to collapse into the sea with it, my mental warning giving Ahsoka just enough time to force leap to safety.

As closely as I was hanging on for dear life, I barely managed to spot Ventress' falling form slam hard into the surface of the water and vanish beneath the waves.

* * *

"Kevin! Ahsoka! I'm glad you're both safe..."

I turned from where we had sat down to rest to see our respective masters rushing toward us, giving a sigh of relief. "Since we're not surrounded by battle droids, I'm guessing we won?"

Anakin smiled. "Better than that. Dooku's going to have to find a new general; Grievous won't be bothering anyone ever again."

My eyes widened in surprise. "Grievous is dead?"

Master Obi-Wan nodded. "Indeed. I see you managed to survive Ventress."

"We did one better than that," Ahsoka said with a tired smirk. "She's with Grievous now."

It was now our Masters' turn to look surprised; Anakin sounded particularly impressed. "What? Are you telling us that you actually killed Asajj Ventress?"

"The last Kevin and I saw of her was when she was falling to her death."

Master Obi-Wan didn't look entirely convinced. "Perhaps, perhaps not," he said, furrowing his brow. "Ventress is notoriously difficult to kill; she's survived things that would have killed most Jedi. I personally wouldn't assume anything unless I saw her actual body."

Much as I wanted to think otherwise, I had to agree with Master Obi-Wan; Ventress was less of a Rattataki and more of a Force-sensitive Terminator fueled by hate. But that wasn't the only downer of the day. "Master Obi-Wan... I messed up."

"What do you mean, Kevin?"

"When I looked through the Kaminoans' database, I found evidence that could have changed everything... and I lost it in the fight." My only hope was that they didn't notice the alteration to the Order 66 programming.

Master Obi-Wan gave me a sympathetic look. "That is alright. What is important is that you are both safe. What did you find?"

Once again, the Force gave me the "bad idea" vibe... but this time was different. Somehow, I could tell that this was the last time it would stop me from saying anything. That the time to reveal the secret, _all_ the secrets, was just around the corner.

"Not here," I said, keeping my voice low. "I don't want to risk the Kaminoans knowing what I found out. I promise I'll tell once we get back to the Temple, though."

* * *

As soon as we boarded the _Negotiator_ , we found that we wouldn't be able to rest just yet; to my surprise, we had one more mission before we could return home.

 _ **"** **Saroth Outpost just went dark,"**_ Mace Windu said over the holocall. ** _"And apparently a CIS strike force was reported in the area right as the main force attacked Kamino."_**

Anakin crossed his arms. "What's so important about this outpost?"

 _ **"** **According to reports, it was a secret facility used for covert weapons testing, but we've received word from the Senate that it was under suspicion of having gone rogue not long ago. They would have sent someone to investigate before..."**_

"But if they were wrong, they would risk exposing its location to the enemy," Master Obi-Wan said, following the logic. "Either way, this is definitely worth checking out; we need to see what the enemy now knows, or does not know."

Anakin looked more than a bit put-out, and I couldn't exactly blame him. "We should have been told about this place years ago, covert or not! What else is the Senate keeping from us?"

I barely managed to hide my reaction to that question. _You have no idea... but it won't be long before you find out. Hopefully you won't go crazy when you do._

"That's a problem for another time, Anakin. Besides, the coordinates for this place aren't too far out of the way, so there is no reason not to investigate this immediately. You and Ahsoka can stay on the ship and get some rest; Kevin and I will handle this one."

* * *

A couple of hours later found me and Master Obi-Wan wandering through a suspiciously empty facility on a small asteroid; something about the whole situation gave me chills.

"No scorch marks from blaster fire... no signs of combat anywhere."

"That is indeed strange," Master Obi-Wan replied. "But it would make sense if the Senate's suspicion about this place going rogue were correct. The enemy must have used Kamino as a distraction to cover their evacuation of this facility and their theft of whatever was being tested here."

I raised an eyebrow as Master Obi-Wan and I activated the control panel for a large pair of bay doors; seeing how large those doors were, there was no way whatever was beyond them wasn't important. "So why didn't they just destroy the place once they got what they wanted out of here? Why leave it for us to look through and potentially find out what they stole?"

"That, my young padawan, is what worries me. I'm glad we have the _Negotiator_ standing by; this can't be anything other than a trap—"

The doors opened to reveal a cannon-like object pointed directly at us, triggered by the motion of the doors opening. As the device began to fire, I got a new feeling from the force.

 _Now._

I didn't need to be told what to do; without warning or hesitation, I placed one hand on Master Obi-Wan's head, shoving every bit of knowledge I could into him before force-pushing him out of the way.

The world went white.

The world went dark.

* * *

A few days after Kamino found Dooku once again staring out over his homeworld. His calm demeanor did not change when a red lightsaber activated behind him.

"Ah. Ventress. It seems you survived Kamino."

The Sith Assassin stepped out of the shadows, still clearly recovering from her terrible injuries during the battle. "You traitor! Did you think I wouldn't find out about your disowning of me before I returned?"

"Hmph. I am shocked that it took you until after the battle to discover it. That only serves to prove your incompetence."

Ventress growled. "You can't just get rid of me that easily!"

"I can, and I have. The truth is, you had already been replaced months ago; the missive I sent out over the network merely made it official."

Before Ventress could respond, her head was removed from her body by an attack from behind.

Dooku smiled. "Come forward, my young apprentice."

A young human male appeared from the darkness, deactivating his lightsaber.

"You have proven your skill beyond my expectations at every turn; that you were able to hide your presence from Ventress now only confirms that you are her superior in every way. And now, it is time to begin our work. Kneel."

Marshall Dalton knelt.

"From this day forth, you shall be known as Darth Iudex."

Darth Iudex rose.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N:** ** _If you thought that last chapter was a Wham Episode, just wait! This chapter will be a flashback revealing even more of the secret plot that I have hinted at several times over the course of the fic; we'll get back to Kevin and the others after this._**

 _ **Also, just in case, warnings for both seriously bad language and fairly heavy themes in this chapter.**_

 _ **Disney owns Star Wars. You don't know the power of the Mouse Side!**_

* * *

 ***4 MONTHS AGO***

"What... what the hell?" Marshall Dalton shook his head, trying to recover from whatever had blown him and his friend Tommy Marko several feet backward. The rain had ceased, but the clouds—both the literal ones in the sky and the ones fogging up his head from the blast—remained. "Did we just nearly avoid getting zapped by a friggin' _lightning bolt?!"_

"Uh, Marsh, I think we got bigger problems," Marko said, looking around in a panic. "Caller's gone! Do you think maybe he got—"

"The lightning bolt? This is reality, Tom. The little punk just got up first and ran off, obviously."

Marsh got to his feet before helping Tommy stand as well. "Damn that little freak..."

"Hey, what if he DID get hit? The runt's from that group home, the lady there's real protective of her kids. If he doesn't show up for a while, who do you think people will start looking at first?"

The ginger started to chide his friend for worrying too much before he realized something.

 _My dad. Damn._

An involuntary shiver ran down his spine, one that he regularly tried to hide lest people see his weakness. Marsh didn't want to think about what his dad would say. _I know what he'll do, though._

Shaking his head to get rid of the nasty images that thought had conjured up, he turned to his friend. "Relax, man. He'll show up again some time."

"Hope so. Hey, Marsh, you wanna come to the concert over the weekend? Coach is letting us off practice for winning that last game, we'd better celebrate while we can."

He thought about it for a few moments; it sounded like a fun idea. Generally, he didn't mind practice; football was his favorite escape. On the field, he was a star—the coach had called him the best tight end he'd ever seen. Fast, strong, tough. None of the things that haunted him off the field could ever touch him while he was playing his favorite sport. But a concert with the rest of the team didn't sound too bad, either; he liked the other guys on the team—

No. Bad idea. That would only lead to bad things. Especially if he weren't careful...

"Nah, I think I'll head back home for now. Looks like it might rain again, and... well, I'm not the religious type, but if the universe is throwing lightning at me I'm not gonna press my luck."

"The fates are NOT to be tempted!" Tommy said with exaggerated drama before joining Marsh in laughter. "Well, alright. Guess I'll see you tomorrow, then. Later!"

As he watched his friend leave, Marsh briefly looked back at the spot where he last saw Kevin; something was still buzzing in his head, and it felt like it was coming from there...

 _Nah._

* * *

Word of the incident on Coruscant had reached Dooku a few days after it had happened; Sidious was careful to control the flow of sensitive information, and rarely allowed him to see anything beyond the essential knowledge for the Plan. But no matter how well one keeps their secrets, something always manages to slip through, and the story of this strange boy intrigued him. But what intrigued him even more was the portal itself.

Hyperdrive technology had remained mostly unchanged over the millennia; there was still no way to simply "pop over" from one place to another. You had to chart a course that would allow you to stay in hyperspace as long as possible without running into a planet or flying through a star, and the number of routes that didn't need regular updates on the locations of such bodies were limited. This "portal" incident, however, could not only change things—it would REVOLUTIONIZE travel. That boy had somehow been thrown from one place to another without any actual travel in-between; if he could somehow find a way to recreate that effect, his fleets would be able to strike anywhere at any time. One second they would be mustering in CIS space, then in a flash they could be over any number of Core worlds and then disappear to the opposite side of the galaxy before any enemy reinforcements arrived. As such, the moment he had learned of the incident, he instructed his scientists to attempt to replicate the circumstances of the experiment as closely as possible. It wasn't difficult; after all, they had been replicating other experiments in hopes of building their own "Death Star" before Sidious had his. Dooku didn't generally think much of relying on technology as opposed to the Force, but the value of such a weapon was undeniable.

Then, merely a week after the initial incident, a stable portal opened up before his eyes, the droid technicians ensuring that it remained open. Not for his own travel—not yet. He needed to know WHERE this portal lead to if he wanted to understand more about how it worked. To that end, a remote stealth probe with cloaking technology had been built to explore the other side; just to be certain of secrecy, Dooku insisted that it not be artificially intelligent, and that he alone was to control the droid from his side of the gate.

The world on the other side was technologically primitive; no repulsor technology, slugthrowers utilizing explosive powder as opposed to directed energy weapons, no droids... but the strangest readings of all involved the Force. Specifically, that it simply _did not exist_ on the other side, save for a small area around the mouth of the portal. Such a thing was unthinkable, in Dooku's mind.

But what he found after using the droid to hack into the other world's equivalent to the holonet... that was not merely unthinkable. At first, he thought that it had to be a mistake. But it wasn't.

Somehow, in that other world, his world was FICTION.

The revelation would almost certainly have driven any lesser being mad. But the Count of Serenno was no lesser being; the possibility of near-infinite alternate universes was nothing new in theoretical circles. The possibility of such universes briefly "crossing" and temporarily glimpsing one another was yet another theory that had been banded about by cosmologists; thus, the notion that some universe somewhere either came up with a fiction that closely resembled reality in another universe was not entirely out of the question, nor the possibility of an author mistaking a passing glimpse of another universe for a flash of inspiration. And once he had acclimated himself to that particular revelation, he began to realize just what a boon he had stumbled upon.

The initial use for the portal would have to be scrapped, but the information he had found gave him knowledge of current, past, and potential future events, knowledge that would help him defeat Sidious, conquer the Republic, destroy the Jedi, and finally bring true order to the Galaxy. But more than that, this new world, in spite of its primitive technology, was plentiful in valuable resources that its inhabitants had yet to truly comprehend.

They wasted their time digging in the sand for oil as a fuel when they had only scratched the surface of atomic power. They had stockpiles and stockpiles of nuclear weaponry; granted, this existed in the Galaxy already, but the amount of radioactive material on this planet, and the amount of weapons already in existence there... with modifications to bring it up to galactic standards of technology, he would have more than enough to be able to utterly dominate any republic fleet or installation long before he ran out of that ammunition. And the amount of material still potentially remaining on the planet that could be used... Then there was the possibility of using it as a virtually unassailable base from which he could launch surprise attacks on the rest of the galaxy, once his technicians had developed a method for creating a fleet-sized portal. All it would take to conquer that world would be a medium-sized fleet, and then all its bounties would be his for the taking.

All of that would have been more than enough to help him make up his mind about his next moves. But the final blessing this discovery had given him was a seeming exception to the "no force" rule:

A red-headed boy had somehow awakened to the Force in a world where, until recently, it had not existed. And the power the probe had detected within said boy was already considerable; were he to be brought over to the Galaxy, theoretically speaking, that power would eclipse that of Ventress.

A new world, with vital information, plentiful resources, priceless strategic value, and a new apprentice? Truly, the Force had smiled on Dooku. All he needed was a way to approach the situation more directly...

* * *

Several days had passed without any sign of Caller. And of course, as Tommy had feared, fingers had been pointed at Kevin's regular tormentors. Nothing came of it... at least where Tommy was concerned. For Marsh, however, the problems didn't end with the questions.

That's when the physical pain began.

"You fucking idiot! Do you have any goddamn idea how this makes ME look?! My son, the fucking delinquent!"

Gregory Dalton was a police officer by trade, and not the good kind. Oh, sure, he had good standing—a highly respected and decorated officer of the law, and upstanding member of the community and a credit to the badge!—but the truth could not have been more different. At best, he was a corrupt drunkard who occasionally took bribes from shady people. At worst... well, there was a reason Marsh dreaded coming home.

On the streets, he was strong. He was bigger and tougher than most everyone else. On the football field, a beloved athlete and valued member of a team. But all of that disappeared when his father went into one of his rages. All of a sudden, he felt impossibly small, terribly weak. The beatings didn't help. And the man was always smart enough to do it in a way that didn't leave visible bruises or scarring the next day.

"Dad, I told you, it wasn't my fault—"

"DON'T YOU FUCKING TALK BACK TO ME, BOY!"

Marsh stumbled with the punch to his gut.

"I don't fucking care whose fault it was, you're the one who brought an investigation to my door! That ever happens again... Fuck, I swear you've got to be the most worthless goddamn son in the world. That whore left because of you, you know that? Just ran off in the night. You ruined that too, you worthless little shit!"

Outside, Marsh was still cowering. But inside he was _burning._ He loved his mom. He really had. She had her faults—she wasn't always there, and she could shout too—but unlike his father, she NEVER hit him, and whenever the former was around she would comfort him. Then one day, she left. No note, no explanation; she simply wasn't there anymore. That wound never truly left, and there were times when he almost believed his father, when he feared that his mother really did leave because of him.

 _Damn it, why can't I say anything! You bastard... don't you dare call her that... Speak up, Marsh! Just man up and tell him not to talk about her like that!_

But no matter how much he tried, the words never came out. Not until the angry man had left him whimpering on the floor and stomped off to drink himself stupid and then fall asleep on the couch.

Marsh gathered himself up and went into his room, locking the door behind him. This was his only sanctuary; his dad rarely ventured in, and he was eternally grateful for that. If the man ever found out what he had on his computer, found out... what he was, he didn't think he would survive. For the billionth time, Marsh sat down on his bed and put his head in his hands, cursing his own weakness. He wanted to punch that man the way the man punched him. He wanted the man to HURT. Marsh had no trouble doing it to other targets—he often imagined his father's face on people like Kevin, people smaller than him. He imagined the bastard whimpering the same way he did...

"Hmph. A pitiful display."

Marsh startled at the voice, but what was in front of him startled him even more, because it simply wasn't possible. It had to be the lightning bolt or his father's fists knocking something loose, because a floating robot and a talking hologram of a dead actor were things that certainly didn't exist.

"You're... you're not real."

The image let out a slight chuckle. "'Reality'. An entirely relative term."

His mind was like a broken record. "No, no, you're just fictional—"

"Your world creates fictional tales out of events that you know to be based in fact; stories about fictional soldiers who fought in real wars that happened less than a century ago. And yet the possibility of a work of fiction being based on a truth of which you were simply unaware is somehow impossible?"

After a few moments, Marsh's brain stopped repeating itself; if he was going insane, or dreaming, he might as well humor his failing mind. "Well... uh, why is a villain from a movie in my room?"

"'Villain'. Another relative term. Your historical fiction turns men who were otherwise heroic in nature into villains, and villains into heroes of virtue. But you are personally familiar with such a phenomenon, are you not?"

"What..." Marsh began to ask what the not-possible man meant until he understood. "My father. You're talking about dad."

A smile of surprising warmth. "Ah, as I suspected, you are more intelligent than you let on. Your father lives the role of a brave officer of law and order, but you know the truth. So why cower before him? You are stronger than him by far."

This was something Marsh didn't have an answer for. Before he could respond, the floating machine and the hologram moved toward his computer—

"NO! Don't look at—"

"At what? The images of men?"

Marsh gulped. "It's not what you think..."

"Yes. I'm sure you are simply a dedicated student of anatomy. Do not fear; unlike many in your world, I care not for your preferences. A man's worth is revealed by action and intent, by his abilities and intellect. His desires are irrelevant. At least, to a degree."

"So why bring it up? Are you supposed to be my subconscious or something?"

Another smile. "You still doubt my existence. Understandable. But you are far too intelligent to remain in denial for long. As for why I discussed that particular subject, it is because it indirectly ties into the reason for my presence."

A pause before the man continued. "This world is not so different from the 'fiction' you believe my world to be: a place that pretends toward justice and order when, in fact, it possesses nothing of the sort. Weak and foolish men such as your father hold power, merely because their point of view and their illusion of worthiness is acceptable to the other fools who run the world, while men of genuine potential are pushed toward the bottom and blamed for it. And should they attempt to change things—and often, they fail to do so—they are punished for their refusal to conform."

The man moved back towards Marsh. "For example, I am attempting to bring down the unworthy system that traps my universe in an endless cycle of chaos and injustice, and I am doing nothing more than what is necessary; for that, I am called 'evil'. You merely attempt to follow your own nature, and for that crime—were it to come to light—you too would be persecuted. But that is merely the smallest injustice of your world, compared to the true problem: men who attempt to correct the world—whistleblowers who challenge corporations, reformers who enter the political world with dreams of working towards a brighter future, men of law who challenge their corrupt peers—are similarly defeated, because their attempts resist the desires of those in power. But in truth, those in power are correct in one respect: it IS, in fact, the fault of those reformers for their own failure."

Marsh only just realized how intently he had been listening. He didn't know why, and a part of him tried to say that the man was wrong, but... it made sense. So instead of challenging the image, he kept silent as his visitor continued.

"The truth is, those who attempt to change the rules by following the rules are doomed to fail. The only way to bring order to a disorderly world is to BREAK the systems that keep the disorder in place. To force the world to correct itself, whether it wishes to or not."

A few more moments of silence passed before Marsh realized that the man had paused for his response.

"And... somehow, you think I can do something about that. But what?"

"An excellent question. And the answer is rather simple for one of your unrecognized wisdom; if I am, in fact, real... what else of my world must also, by logical extension, be real?"

 _...No way._ "The Force. You think I have the Force."

"I do not _think_ it, Marshall Dalton. I know it. Your power has only just awakened; thus, you cannot truly sense the Force yet. But in time, you will. Then, you will no longer deny my existence, nor the truth of my words; when that day comes, I shall return, and offer you the chance that you never realized you were waiting for: the chance to _correct your world._ I can show you how to accomplish this, but you must see my world before you can truly learn. You need not make your decision now, however; think upon it, and when I return, I suspect you will know what choice to make."

The hologram vanished, and the floating robot cloaked itself, leaving Marsh alone with his thoughts.

* * *

A few days later, Marsh found himself sitting on a sidewalk bench not far from the abandoned playground where the lightning struck, seeing the world in a new light; there were no people around beside himself, but at the same time he didn't _feel_ alone. There was a sense of an energy that hung in the air around him, though most of it was concentrated on the playground.

 _This must be what it feels like to sense the Force,_ he mused. _So it_ was _real. It_ is _real..._

He looked at his hands. _What did he say? That I was stronger than dad? If he was talking about the Force... then I could..._

Marsh stopped himself. He wasn't a geek or a genuine fan of the franchise, but he knew enough about it to know that such thoughts led to the Dark Side, and the Dark Side was evil. _Then again... he did say that 'evil' was relative. Maybe he was right. But... he's still my father..._

Marsh stood up and began wandering aimlessly down the street toward his home. _I'll have to think about this more._ When he opened the door, though, something he didn't expect was waiting for him: a gun in his face, held by his (clearly drunk, by the stench) father.

"You little fag."

"What—"

"GET IN HERE!"

With his free hand, the man grabbed his shirt and dragged him in, tossing him into a coffee table, breaking the glass top and leaving him with numerous cuts and scrapes from the glass shards.

"You FUCKING faggot! Do you have any idea what that could do to me, people knowing what I got for a son?! Not just a coward, not just a delinquent, but a goddamn FAGGOT!"

A heavy kick to Marsh's midsection followed. Something stirred; some small aspect of bravery welled in him. " _You are stronger than him..."_

"If... if you shoot me... they'll think even worse of you!"

"You think this is the first time I shot this gun inside the house, boy? Worthless—"

"What."

Silence filled the air. Clearly, the alcohol had loosened his father's inhibitions in a way the man did not intend, if the expression on his face were any indication. Marsh's own expression mirrored that of his father for a bit before changing into something darker.

"What did you say."

His father gulped in fear before finding his courage again. "Don't come any closer, you little shit! That whore tried to step to me and this," he said, gesturing with his gun, "is what she got!"

"DON'T. Use that word for mom."

"Or else what? I have the gun, you worthless piece of shit. Now, we're gonna take a bit of walk, and then I'm gonna do what I should've done years ago, just the way I did to that whore—"

It happened so quickly; hearing the word again, combined with everything else, triggered something in Marsh; all at once, the years and years of cruelty came rushing back, the wounds, the bruises, the nights spent hiding his terror from the world. The face of his mother, smiling at him... then the thought of her attempting to fight back against her husband only to be murdered for it. It started as a burning sensation, then it boiled and built until it was a raging volcano; he felt as if he were going to explode then and there, and only one thing came to his mind: _burn the bastard._

"DON'T USE THAT WORD, YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

Lightning flew from his fingertips, spraying over his father. Marsh was so caught up in the rage of the moment that he didn't even think anymore, he just wanted this man to HURT. He stomped over to where his father had landed, shivering in pain. He was scared of this bastard for so long? This worthless piece of trash who murdered his mother...

"YOU KILLED HER! YOU KILLED HER! DID YOU LIKE IT?! DID YOU LAUGH?! YOU KILLED MY MOTHER!"

He thrust his hands out again and again and again, hearing his father scream in agony while his own cries devolved into screams of rage. After several more times, he finally stopped... only to see a charred, smoking corpse lying in front of him. All the rage suddenly left him, replaced with nausea in his gut and the beginning of tears in his eyes. He felt like throwing up.

"What... what have I done... I... I just..."

"You exacted justice."

Marsh turned to see the hologram again.

"You did nothing more than give a vile man his long-awaited comeuppance, and in self-defense. But because he was loved by an ignorant community, what will they think? Will they understand? Will they even listen?"

"I..."

"You know the answer to that question, Marshall. Say it."

"...No. No, they won't. They'll... oh God, they'll say—"

"They will call you murderer. And if I am accurate in guessing your age, you are old enough to be tried as an adult, are you not? All because you avenged yourself and your mother. You will be punished for the crime of JUSTICE."

The tears began flowing, and Marsh cursed himself for not being able to stop them. "W-what am I gonna do? I-I-I just _murdered_ my father, and I _liked_ it, I'm a m-m-monster—"

"You are not a monster. You are something far greater than any other on this world: you are the first man upon it who has the power to change it. To _correct_ it. To make the Gregory Daltons of the world, _all_ of them, pay for their sins; to save the other Marshall Daltons of the world from the cruelty you suffered. Come with me, and I will show you how to remake the world as it _ought_ to be. Together, we will _fix_ both our universes."

The tears finally stopped; Marsh felt completely lost, like he didn't know which way was up. All he knew was that he had no choice; there was nothing left for him, no other option, no one else who would listen or help. He had no choice...

"Tell me. Tell me how."

* * *

 _ **Yeah, Dooku's a master of emotional manipulation, just like Palpatine for Anakin. Next chapter will show where Kevin ended up, and from that point we'll be headed straight for the climax of this fic.**_


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N:** ** _Well, we're back to Kevin in this chapter. We're getting close to the climax of this fic; only a few more chapters to go plus an epilogue. I might add a one-shot series on taking place after the end of the fic, but if I do it'll be only occasionally updated as I have a couple of other stories on the back burner that I plan to get back to._**

 _ **Disney owns Star Wars, Marvel, the sun, the moon, the sound of birds on a spring morning, that feeling you get when the first ray of sunshine peeks through the clouds after a long rainstorm...**_

* * *

"Uhnn..."

My head hurt. So did my everything else. It took me a few seconds to recall what had happened, at which point I snapped my eyes open and bolted upright.

"Ah! Master Obi-Wan! Are you... alright..."

Now that my eyes were open, I could see that I was no longer in Saroth Outpost, and that my Master was nowhere to be seen. Instead, I was lying on grass, looking at a chain-link fence; as I was still dizzy from what happened, it took me a few moments to register where I was.

"The abandoned playground... I'm home..."

For a few moments, I considered the possibility that it had all been a dream; that was quickly ruled out by the fact that I still wore my robes and lightsaber. I could still sense the Force as well—I even felt through my Force bond with Master Obi-Wan that he was alive, wherever he was. That's when I hit a bit of a sudden realization.

 _Wait a sec. The Force shouldn't even exist here!_

I decided to stretch out my senses as far as I could to figure out what was going on, and got another surprise; the Force _did_ exist on Earth. Or, more specifically, it existed NOW. The range at which I could sense the Force was currently somewhat limited, extending to a radius of only a couple of miles (I noted briefly the absurdity of thinking that to be a short distance when to most Knights it was an impressive one) before just... stopping. I soon realized that the Force was spreading from a single point—namely, a few feet from where I was currently sitting. Getting to my feet, I looked at the point in question; I didn't SEE anything with my eyes, but I felt a weakness in space-time at the nexus where the Force was leaking through.

I could sense right away that I could get back to the galaxy if I focused the Force on the breach. But I could also sense that it wasn't TIME to do it, yet. Having learned to trust those feelings, I decided to try to figure out my next move; it didn't take long for me to decide on a course of action.

"Home. I have to get home. I have to at least tell Ms. Madison that I'm alright."

I didn't get three steps before I realized that—assuming time passed equally on both sides of the breach—I was almost certainly listed as a "missing child", and my current attire would stand out quite a bit. If I were recognized, there was a chance I would be stuck in a police station or in my room for the foreseeable future, and while I fully intended to visit the orphanage, I knew I couldn't stay there; I opted to take the back streets just to be safe.

It felt a bit strange that I now considered the back streets to be "safe"; this wasn't exactly the best part of town. Bullies were one thing, but compared to the presence of gangs and other crime, Marsh and Tommy had always been the lesser threat by a mile. Now that I had the Force, though, I knew I had nothing to fear from dark places—at least not anymore. A few blocks later, however, danger did indeed rear its ugly head; I sensed that someone nearby was in distress. Getting home may have been a priority, and I may have only been a padawan, but a Jedi doesn't ignore a person in need no matter where they are. Running in the direction of the feeling, I got yet another surprise in the form of a familiar face:

"Look, I told you, I don't HAVE anything more for you guys! You took it all last time—"

"Shut up, Marko! We know you've been holding out on your payments for a while. Cough it up, or we cut it out of you!"

From around a corner, I spotted Tommy Marko, one of my old bullies, surrounded by no less than eight guys who were clearly part of a local gang; most of them had either knives or baseball bats, but the one who had just spoken—obviously the leader by the look of things—held a gun. Tommy may have been a bully, but again, as a Jedi-in-training I had a responsibility to help, and I wasn't about to let these guys hurt or kill him. I took a breath, then stepped around the corner.

"Hold it. Let him go."

All eyes turned to me; for a few seconds, they seemed confused, until Marko clearly recognized me, an expression of shock crossing his face. The gang members had a slightly different reaction.

"Hahahahahahaha! Looks like we got ourselves a little Karate Kid!"

"No, not a Karate Kid, he's a JEDI!"

A chorus of "Oooo" came out of the group as they reacted in mock horror before laughing again.

"Go back to your mommy and your legos, kid," said the guy with the gun. "This is the real world here!"

I couldn't help but smirk at the idea of what their reaction was about to be. I waved my hand, directing the force at their minds. "You don't want to fight me. You want to drop your weapons and leave quietly."

Sure enough, three of them did just that, leaving the rest—the ones who weren't weak-minded—looking rather flabbergasted. The leader looked at me with brief astonishment before shaking his head. "Nah, it's some sort of trick. I got something for that!"

Time slowed down as he pointed the gun at me and pulled the trigger; by the time the bullet had left the barrel, I had already grabbed my lightsaber and activated it, intercepting the bullet... and deflecting it right at the guy's shoulder, causing him to drop the gun and fall down, clutching his shoulder and screaming in pain.

"AAAAUGH!"

A light force-push took the other four off their feet, while a subsequent pull tore their weapons from their hands and dropped them on the ground in front of me; I then did my best imitation of Master Obi-Wan and glared in their direction, my voice steady and calm.

"Grab your friend and leave. And while you're at it, go home and rethink your lives."

They didn't need a mind trick to convince them to obey, and within a few moments Tommy and I were alone in the alley. I walked over to him, deactivating my lightsaber and looking him over for injuries.

"Are you alright, Tommy?"

He blinked several times, clearly still stuck in utter disbelief. "What... Caller? That's... that's not possible!"

"That's what I thought at first, too. Turns out truth is stranger than fiction." Satisfied that he wasn't injured, I took his hand and helped him to his feet.

Still clearly in shock, Marko took a few moments before resigning himself to the new reality. "It... it IS you. How? Where did you go? Wait, don't tell me—"

"A Galaxy Far, Far Away," I said with a slight smirk. "That lightning bolt opened some sort of breach that day; long story short, I'm a padawan apprentice. Coming back wasn't intentional, and honestly I didn't think I ever would, or even could. But I'm here now." A few more moments of silence passed as Tommy tried to process my story; before he could speak, I remembered something else.

"Wait, where's Marsh?" I asked, looking around in confusion. "I don't think I remember any time you guys weren't together."

"Marsh... he disappeared not long after you did. He's... he's wanted for murder."

That took me by surprise. "Wait, what? What happened?"

"His dad... he killed his dad, or so they say. Guy's body looked like someone set him on fire." Tommy paused, looking at the ground with a guilty expression. "I think I always knew on some level that he'd been going through some rough times at home; he never talked about it, and whenever I'd ask he'd change the subject. I knew Marsh better than most; he'd never kill anyone. Rough 'em up, maybe, but murder? Not him. Not his style. I never believed it, not for a second."

It took a bit for the whole thing to sink in for me. Somehow, I knew that this was related to the Force; I resolved to try and find out the how, what, and why later, after I'd gotten back to the orphanage. I started to leave, but was stopped by Tommy putting a hand on my shoulder.

"Look, Kevin, about... about the day you disappeared. Ever since then I couldn't stop thinking about what we did to you, how we treated you. Marsh, I think he probably had his reasons, but I didn't have any excuse; I just beat you up for _fun_ , and I know I shouldn't have. I was awful to you for no reason, and you disappearing... for what it's worth, I'm sorry. For everything."

* * *

Obi-Wan sat in the infirmary of the _Negotiator_ , still reeling from the events of the day, as well as the revelations gained from Kevin's final actions before the force of the weapon's blast knocked him out. It had been less than an hour since then; sensing danger, Anakin and Ahsoka had come to the rescue to find Kevin gone and Kenobi unconscious. Upon his awakening, his new knowledge hit him like a freighter; it took every fiber of his being to keep it to himself. He may have been in shock, but his tactical mind quickly told him that a patient approach was the best way to avoid the tragedy he now knew was coming.

The clones on Kamino had undergone the procedure that would put Kevin's alterations to Order 66 into effect, but there were plenty of troops still in deployment alongside various Jedi who had yet to be freed from their status as unwitting pawns of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. By the next day, though, the program would be broadcast to frontline medical bases across the galaxy, the clones scheduled to undergo the procedure receiving the key to their freedom and the salvation of both the Jedi and the Republic.

After his brief explanation, Anakin had decided to speak with Palpatine immediately upon their arrival on Coruscant; the thought of his former padawan conversing with the hidden Sith Lord—the man who had orchestrated everything, the one who sought to destroy the Jedi and plunge the galaxy into darkness—frightened him. But the clones were not the only consideration. The catalyst of Anakin's fall was still in play, and Kenobi had no doubt that Sidious had a plan to ensure Anakin's corruption in the event of his premature exposure.

As for Kevin... that would have to wait. No matter how much he worried for his padawan, he could do nothing to save him, at least for now. His only consolation was that, wherever Kevin had gone, he was alive; there was no distance, no barrier that could sever their Force bond.

With no other option, Kenobi began to plan his strategy for the coming storm; one way or the other, the fate of the galaxy would soon be decided.

* * *

Kenobi was not the only one strategizing; across the stars, on the bridge of his flagship in orbit of Serenno, Dooku observed the preparations for the final phase of his own master plan, his new apprentice standing by his side. Through the main viewport he could see a sizable droid fleet mustering in anticipation of their cross-dimensional invasion, his own ship undergoing modifications to its hyperdrive core, modifications that would allow it to create a fleet-sized breach, the product of experiments that had been going on since the day he had first learned of Caller's arrival in the Galaxy.

On the subject of that particular individual, Dooku was fully aware that the newly-christened Darth Iudex could potentially be turned from the Dark Side should the padawan somehow intervene; with that in mind, he had taken steps to ensure that Caller would not live long enough to do so. He was certain that Bane and the team comprised of Dooku's own assassins would stand out rather easily in the other world, but considering the impending invasion he was planning, stealth beyond the actual elimination of the boy would be a rather moot point. As for Sidious, his former master would soon be too busy avoiding the increased suspicion by the Jedi that he had planted back during the incident on Alderaan to stop him—that, or the culmination of the hidden Sith Lord's plan would be forced into effect early, creating chaos that would leave the Republic reeling no matter who won that day.

The pieces were in place, the dejariik match almost over... and soon enough, he would have two universes in his grasp.

* * *

Anne Madison watched her charges go about their daily routines with a vacant gaze, running her hands through her red hair in mute exasperation; as the head of the Harper Street Orphanage, she normally took to her duties with an unwavering focus, but recent events had left her in a haze of worry. The occupants of the orphanage may not have been her biological children, but they were _her_ kids all the same. When Kevin vanished several months ago, she knew immediately that he had not run away—the boy was as well-behaved and kind-hearted as any of his peers, and the thought of him voluntarily leaving without so much as a note never once crossed her mind. Which left only one possibility: foul play.

There was nothing she would not do for her children, and when the police gave up, she took matters into her own hands; with a taser, a pocket knife, and a can of mace, she immediately went on a personal search for him, dangerous neighborhood and violent thugs be damned. Not that any mugger would dare mess with her considering the mood she had been in at the time. After yet another month with no contact and no sign of him, however, her maternal rage gradually faded, replaced by despair. She held out hope as long as she could, but eventually she forced herself to face the cold, hard truth. That didn't make it any easier; in her mind, even one child lost among all her kids was an unacceptable failure, a failure that still haunted her and would likely continue haunting her for a long time.

She walked towards Kevin's old room, still unoccupied, still exactly as it had been since the day he vanished. As she approached the door, she thought she heard a sound from within—the sound of a window opening and shutting. She shook her head.

 _I'm starting to hear things. He's gone..._

When she opened the door, her heart leaped into her throat, her breath momentarily gone. For standing in plain view was the boy she had given up for dead. After a few seconds that seemed like an eternity, she finally managed to choke out one quiet word.

"Kevin...?"

He nodded, his face an odd mixture of ecstatic relief and quiet joy. "Ms. Madison... I'm home."

A million questions raced through her mind, the first coherent one being ' _Where did he go?'_

Kevin sighed. "I'll tell you, but you might want to sit down first."

A rather stray thought followed her previous one. _Did I say that out loud?_

"No, you didn't. Again, you really ought to have a seat, because this explanation is going to take a while."

A pause came between them as she realized that something was happening that was impossible. Finally, she managed to walk over to the bed and sit; her shock only increased when something even more impossible followed as Kevin took a fictional weapon from his belt and turned it on, a green glow from a real blade erupting into existence.

With utter calm, Kevin broke the silence. "It's real. It's all real."

* * *

 _ **Sorry about the wait! This chapter was an unexpected pain to write; the next few are probably going to make me scream in frustration, too, so the next couple of updates might be equally slow. Just be patient—we're almost at the endgame. Also, I'm 100% aware that in canon, bullets can't be deflected by lightsabers; to be honest, I really despise that because it makes zero sense for reasons too numerous to go into here (and just talking about it risks triggering my nerd rage). Anyway, read and review!**_


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: _As I said in the previous chapter, we're coming up on the end game. This will be the first multi-chapter fic (aside from_ Soldiers, Young and Old _) that I've done to completion, and once this is over I'll have more time for my other stuff. Hope you enjoy!_**

 _ **Star Wars is fully owned and controlled by Disney. They may or may not also control the world from a secret underground bunker.**_

* * *

"I... I don't even know how to react to this, Kevin," Ms. Madison said, still reeling from the short version of my story that I had just finished telling her. "God, I thought you were dead, and now I find out that..."

She cut herself off with a heavy sigh as she placed her head in her hands; she wasn't crying, but I got the feeling that if she weren't sitting on the bed at the time she would have collapsed to the floor under the weight of it all.

"Kevin, what am I going to tell anyone? How are we going to explain this—"

I shook my head. "We can't. We can't tell anyone. Not yet, at least..."

"What do you mean, 'not yet'?"

"I... well, it's hard to explain, but when you can feel the Force, you can sense its... intent sometimes, or something like that. The Force is so complex I honestly can't describe it to you accurately in a way you'd be able to understand. Even Master Obi-Wan doesn't completely understand sometimes—"

"Wait, 'Master _Obi-Wan'?_ As in—you're not seriously saying—"

"Yeah. His second padawan after Master Skyw—Anakin. Okay, yeah, it does seem a little strange that I almost forgot that they used to be fictional from my perspective. Don't worry, Anakin hasn't gone Vader yet; still, there's no telling what else might be changing with me here. Which is why I have to go back soon—"

She stood up suddenly, eyes simultaneously displaying shock, hurt, and mild anger. "'Back'? Kevin, I was almost about to give up on ever finding you alive again! I was almost convinced that someone would drag your body out of the river, and now you're going _back_ to a universe that is currently in the middle of a galaxy-spanning _war?!"_

I had almost forgotten _that_ look; she had mastered it like no one else in either universe. Force, I think she could've even shrunk Master Windu down to an inch with that! It took every ounce of willpower I had not to let the guilt overcome me, let alone all the other emotions running through me at this reunion. "Ms. Madison, I know it's dangerous; I've _trained_ for dangerous. I've already gone through real life-or-death combat situations; it wasn't easy, and I don't think it ever will be. But there are people I've come to know as _real, actual people_ and not just fictional characters, people who might end up needing my help at some point; I can't just walk away from that. As for the danger... don't be afraid for me. I'll be fine, and I know I'll see you again before long."

"How can you know that, Kevin? It's _war_ , and nothing is _ever_ safe in war! I know that firsthand..." Ms. Madison looked down at the floor; I know she doesn't like to talk about it, so the fact that she brought it up at all spoke to just how frightened she was for me. "...How can you possibly know... and how can _I_ know?"

"Because," I said, looking her directly in the eye and saying with full confidence, "The Force is with me. I know it sounds cheesy—heck, it probably sounds sort of like I've joined a cult or something—but that's the literal truth. I can _feel_ it, every second of every day, and it hasn't failed me yet. I don't know _exactly_ what's going to happen, because the future is always changing, but I can always trust in the Force. That's just part of being a Jed—"

All of a sudden, a hundred alarm bells started going off in my head.

"What? What's wrong, Kevin?"

"Get all the others into the basement and lock the door. You have about three minutes."

"Kevin, _what's going on?"_

"Someone followed me through the breach. Several _armed_ someones. They're only a few blocks away, and they're not planning on a friendly visit."

* * *

Cad Bane was neither easily impressed nor easily shaken by strange revelations under ordinary circumstances. These were _far_ from ordinary circumstances. Even so, the surprise at seeing an entirely new universe passed into disappointment when he noticed how technologically backwards it was compared to the Galaxy. True, he'd seen even more backwards areas in the Outer Rim—there were even settlements in those parts where living mounts and powdered slugthrowers were still used instead of repulsor tech and blasters—but that was mostly due to lack of resources or money for anything more complex rather than a lack of technical knowledge. This planet was just backwards, pure and simple. _Of course, we'll stick out like angry rancors, but by the time anyone on this rock knows something's up, we'll already have gone out of sight,_ Bane mused; _That, or the sep fleet will arrive and start tearing this backwater a new one. Either way, we'll be as ghosts before anyone can react._

At least the subordinates Dooku supplied him with were the flesh-and-blood trained-killer types rather than those idiot droids; he didn't like relying on a team to get the job done, but when he had to it was good to have competent people. Besides, it wasn't as if he planned to let any of them live long enough to get a share of the paycheck.

After a brief period of travel, the team managed to reach the target building; he wasn't sure how Dooku knew about it, but he suspected it had to do with that new apprentice of his. With a few gestures, his three "colleagues" moved to enter while he remained outside using the x-ray function on his macrobinoculars to observe the fight through the walls. _I don't really expect much trouble from this kid, but he_ was _trained by Kenobi. Worst-case-scenario, they'll probably get enough hits in that I can just come in and clean up after them..._

It wasn't long before he spotted the padawan in question, hiding around a corner from one of his team; he had to smirk in genuine amusement. Kenobi trained this kid _good_. He'd picked a narrow hallway with only one way in and out, which would give him the advantage in terms of blaster deflection. The assassin in question wasn't stupid either, however, and quickly rolled behind a counter instead of sticking his idiot head around the corner; as a result, he was able to spot the kid hiding there, and let out a quick burst of fire in his direction before ducking back behind cover. The kid managed to deflect the worst of it, but the other two, being on the opposite side of the wall from the kid, heard the shots and aimed their guns at the wall itself; the bolts punched through with little difficulty, forcing him out into the open.

Unfortunately, that's when things started to go wrong for the team; again, being trained by Obi-Wan Kenobi meant getting trained by a master strategist and tactician, so rather than simply running out in a panic the padawan force-leaped over the counter and quickly killed the assassin hiding there before the latter could react. The other two moved to flank, but once again the kid was ready, force-throwing pots and pans at his assailants while remaining behind cover; with that distraction, he was able to subdue one with an arm amputation and a heavy force-push, knocking the poor sap out like a light. The third managed to graze the padawan on the shoulder in the process, but the kid shrugged it off and deflected the other shots before leaping behind another wall, remaining low to minimize the risk of being shot through it. The assassin did a flying sideways leap around the corner, letting loose a rapid-fire burst from both guns, but they ended up being blocked or deflected, one of the last bolts being redirected right at the idiot's head, doing him in.

 _Gotta say, he knows his stuff well._ Bane smiled at the padawan's relieved expression, blissfully unaware of the hidden bounty hunter due to Bane's Ysalamiri-enhanced longcoat. The instant the boy moved past a window, Bane tossed a couple of grenades in; the kid barely had time to get out of the way before they exploded. Wasting no time, the hired gun kicked a nearby door down and fired, forcing the padawan into cover again.

"Nice moves, kid. A few years, give or take, and you might've reached about a fraction of Kenobi's level. But your luck just ran out."

"Bane?!"

"In the flesh," he chuckled. "Gotta say, what Dooku thinks he can get out of this mudball I have no clue. But considering his offer of a lifetimes' worth of creds, a future long-term contract, and a continent or two to call home, retirement never sounded better. Shame about the low tech, but once the current tenants are gone it shouldn't be too hard to redecorate a bit."

The boy tried to move out of cover, but a quick burst of blaster fire followed by a stun grenade made him reconsider the notion. "You really think Dooku will let you live once he's got what he wants?"

"Ordinarily, no. But he isn't stupid; I've got skills no one else has, and big fleet or no he'll need some high-class scum like me to deal with any problems. Can't rule a planet without good pest control."

After a short pause, the kid tried to escape to another cover, and was successful this time—but only just, as Bane simply managed to flank and corner him again. A chair was sent flying in his direction, forcing Bane to dodge, and he had just enough time to get out his own stolen lightsaber to parry the kid's counterattack before delivering a kick to the gut and retreating with another burst of blaster fire; even so, Kenobi's padawan still managed to block and deflect the shots. Bane started to seriously consider the possibility that this fight might take a while before a welcome distraction occurred.

"Ahh!"

Both combatants looked to see a small child—considering how empty the place was, the little kriffer was obviously overlooked during whatever evacuation occurred—standing in a hallway. Before the padawan could respond, Bane had grabbed the child and placed a blaster to his skull. "What's your name, kiddo?"

"B-b-b-braden..." The child choked out, quietly weeping in pure terror.

"Well, Braden, I'm guessing you wanna live, huh? You're a pretty cute kid—it'd be a terrible shame if you had a big hole where the back of your head used to be. Or maybe I could blow your head open from the other direction and leave you minus a face? I can improvise." Bane looked at the padawan with a smirk. "You want this brat to see another day, drop the lightsaber."

Jedi padawan or no, the kid couldn't help but sneer in frustration. "You think I'm stupid? You'll kill him anyway!"

"Maybe. Maybe not. But think about it this way: you surrender, he _might_ die. You don't, he'll _definitely_ die. Doesn't seem like too difficult a choice—"

 _Chk-CHK._

The unmistakable sound of a blaster of some sort being cocked behind him surprised Bane enough to loosen his grip on the smaller child, giving the padawan plenty of time to force-pull the hostage away; Bane had just enough time to whip around to see an unbelievably pissed-off human woman wielding a double-barreled slugthrower.

 _BOOM._

* * *

"Go down to the basement, Braden. Don't look, just go to the others and stay there until Ms. Madison comes to get you, okay?"

Shooing Braden off, I turned to Ms. Madison, who lowered the still-smoking shotgun, switched the safety on and placed it on the counter before collapsing to the floor, leaning against the wall for support. "I never thought I'd have to use a gun ever again. 'Never again', I told myself. 'You were discharged, you did your time, you can rest easy.'"

"There wasn't any other way..."

She replied with a sad chuckle. "Never thought one of my kids would be lecturing _me_ on this kind of thing..." A long silence followed; when she broke it, her voice almost cracked with grief. "You should never have had to be in this sort of situation. You shouldn't have to deal with this sort of thing. Jedi or not, you're a _child_ and this," she said, gesturing to Bane's corpse, "is something no child should ever have to deal with."

I nodded a bit. "There isn't much that can be done about it, though. The Force helps; there's a sort of calming effect, and meditation tends to keep the stress to a minimum. All the same... I _did_ have some nightmares the first time. Master Obi-Wan helps, but... if I ever do come back to visit, would it be okay if I talked to you about it from time to time?"

A sad smile came in response. "Like I said, Kevin, you're one of my kids; that won't ever change, even if you get adopted or made a Jedi or whatever. I wouldn't have any business running a place like this if I didn't make time for you when you needed it. I'll get this all cleaned up—"

I froze, remembering the guy I knocked out. "Wait! One of them's alive. I need to read his mind to see if there's any more coming, so wait until I do that before you tie him up or whatever."

She started to say something before probably realizing that this was the new normal and she ought to get used to it; ignoring her for the moment, I knelt over the assassin and placed my hand on his head, clearing my mind and searching through his memories. It wasn't long before I found something disturbing.

 _Marsh...? Marsh is Dooku's apprentice... wait. Something else—oh._

 _Oh Force._

 _An invasion fleet._

Before I could react to the new revelations, I suddenly found myself being pulled into yet another vision; to my surprise, it started out the same as all the others, but a story began to unfold as it became clearer and clearer.

 _A red glow from a lightsaber; a green lightsaber—MY lightsaber—crosses it. As the two clash, I see myself and Marsh in deadly combat._

 _Though the area around the battle is shrouded in darkness, by squinting I can just make out a terrible scene: crumbling buildings full of frightened and starving people; rivers of sludge abound, and thick smog blackens the sky. To my horror, I realize that this is no alien planet; this is Earth._

 _Suddenly, the battle ceases, with both combatants turning to face me. Marsh's lightsaber suddenly turns blue, and instead of facing each other in battle he and I now stand side-by-side_ _—_ _as allies, not enemies._

 _A new lightsaber activates, green._

 _Another lightsaber activates, blue._

 _And another, and another and another, all wielded by people I don't know. As each one ignites, the dark shadows are banished. The smog dissipates to reveal clear blue skies; the crumbling buildings give way to gleaming spires, the rivers of sludge become flowing streams of crystal-clear water, and the frightened people rise to their feet and begin walking happily through the new world without a care._

 _But the grandest sight of all is behind me and Marsh: hundreds of thousands of people, maybe more, stretching as far as the eye can see—and all of them wielding lightsabers._

I didn't need to be told what the vision meant. Ever since I first began my training, I wondered why the Force brought me to the Galaxy; no matter what I did, it seemed that I only managed to affect minor changes at best. Now I knew why.

I was never meant to save the _Galaxy._ And I was never meant to save anything _alone._

For the first time since it all began, I knew what I had to do; I could only hope I had the strength with which to succeed.

* * *

 _ **Next chapter, back to the Galaxy... and the beginning of the finale. Read and review!**_


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N:** ** _For those of you wondering about the Force vision Kevin had in the previous chapter, I thought it was clear enough what it meant; looking back, though, I realize I was probably a bit too vague, so once we get to the final battle I'll reveal the full meaning._**

 _ **Disney owns Star Wars. All hail the New Or—er, Trilogy.**_

* * *

The _Negotiator_ arrived on Coruscant the next day, and in Anakin's mind it was none too soon; he had felt rather restless and anxious the whole way back from Kamino. Normally, he would go straight to Padme, but even her support could only help him so much when things went wrong. Thankfully, Chancellor Palpatine was always there to lend an ear, and he found that his conversations with the man often calmed his fears and worries with regards to events like the one involving Kenobi's apprentice in a way that his secret wife couldn't. Kevin wasn't his padawan, but the boy meant quite a bit to both Obi-Wan and Ahsoka—and he himself had spent enough time helping him train to grow somewhat attached as well. Padme, Chancellor Palpatine, Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, Kevin... in Anakin's mind, they constituted the family he never knew; an injury to any one of them was an injury to him.

He paused at the emotions that last thought gave him. _Anger is a tool of the Dark Side. There is no emotion, there is peace..._

Anakin had found himself more self-aware regarding his emotions since the conversation with Obi-Wan over Padme; having his elder-brother-in-all-but-name share in the burden of keeping his secret took a lot of pressure off his mind, giving him time to stop and think without having that burden weighing him down constantly. And with that self-awareness came more self-control. _Trust in the Force. Kevin isn't dead, he's just missing. Obi-Wan still feels the bond, and if he says Kevin's alive then he's alive..._

Even with that reassuring thought, though, Anakin still felt the need to converse with the Chancellor. The moment the ship landed, he headed straight for the hangar where his starfighter lay; he'd bring it back to the Temple hangar once he was done at the Senate building. He approached the fighter in a hurry, only to see Obi-Wan kneeling next to R2 before standing up to greet him while the droid in question boarded.

"Anakin, we need to talk."

"Can it wait? I have to meet with Chancellor Palpatine—"

"It's Palpatine himself that I want to talk about, Anakin."

The tone of voice struck Anakin as strange. "What about him?"

"I... Force, this is going to be difficult..." Kenobi paused, shaking his head. For a moment, he thought he heard Obi-Wan mutter something about being unable to talk. "Anakin... don't trust Palpatine."

"What?" The words he'd just heard took him completely by surprise. "What are you talking about?"

"It's... complicated. I have a bad feeling about the man; do you remember my report after the First Battle of Geonosis?"

"Yeah, but what does that have to do with—"

"Dooku claimed that there was a Sith Lord in the Senate, directing everything. If he was telling the truth..."

"Dooku is a traitor and a liar. Why should we believe anything he said? He's the real threat!"

"It's not just Dooku," replied Kenobi. "recall the incident on Alderaan; according to Kevin, Ahsoka, and Padme, Aurra Sing claimed that there were individuals on Coruscant who desired this war. If Dooku was correct, a Sith Lord in the Senate would absolutely fall into that category."

"Obi-Wan, that's stretching and you know it."

"Think about it! There are always two Sith: a master and an apprentice. Dooku was Ventress' master, but who was his?"

"I don't want to hear any more about it, Obi-Wan! Chancellor Palpatine is NOT a Sith Lord! He's the closest thing to a father that I've ever had—"

" _Anakin._ "

That tone stopped him in his tracks; he had not heard Obi-Wan use it since his days as the man's padawan. It wasn't a command, nor a warning, simply a firm request to stop and listen; the old Anakin would have responded with a huff and only partially obeyed. Now, though, he found himself genuinely pausing to hear.

"Anakin, I know how much he means to you. I know how much you respect him. But... just promise me you'll at least think about it. If I'm right, you're in danger every time you meet with him; right now, I have enough on my mind with Kevin without having to worry about you as well."

The silence hang in the air between them for a time; after what seemed a brief eternity, Anakin wordlessly hopped into the starfighter and took off for the Senate building. The journey from the dock to the Senate building was rather short, even when going through traffic the usual way without using a starship to land at the private docks there, usually only taking about five standard minutes. This time, though, Anakin found himself almost absent-mindedly flying around the entire district again and again, desperate to shake the alien thoughts from his head. Meditation didn't come as easily to him as it did to other Jedi. As such, he found other ways to clear his mind; aside from messing around with machinery, flying was one of the only things that seemed to work for him. This time, though, he found that nothing could stop Kenobi's words from running through his mind again and again.

" _Dooku claimed there was a Sith Lord in the Senate, directing everything..."_

He laughed nervously. That was just paranoia, wasn't it? After all, psychological warfare was one of Dooku's specialties. Then again, Obi-Wan never fell for those sort of tactics. In all the time he had known Kenobi, not once had he ever struck Anakin as paranoid or easily manipulated...

" _Aurra Sing claimed that there were individuals on Coruscant who desired this war. If Dooku was correct, a Sith Lord in the Senate would absolutely fall into that category."_

Anakin still wasn't convinced, but he could at least see the logic in that statement. The war certainly seemed to drag on and on, and sometimes it felt like Dooku knew what the Republic forces were going to do long before he should have—but then again, the Force granted precognition to those particularly attuned to it. That could easily explain it. Besides, what would a Sith have to gain by continuing the war... unless they were playing both sides...

He shook his head. No, not the Chancellor. Obi-Wan was wrong. He _had_ to be.

The soul-searching went on for almost an hour before he finally turned toward the Senate building. After landing at the private docks and showing his credentials—though they were hardly more than a formality at this point considering his fame as "The Hero Without Fear"—he made his way toward the Chancellor's office, unaware of R2 disembarking after him.

* * *

After my vision, I had wanted to run straight back to the breach and return to the galaxy; instead, I found myself taking care of the blaster-induced graze on my shoulder (thankfully, my medkit came with me through the breach) before helping Ms. Madison clean up the mess made by my fight with Bane and his accomplices, which altogether took most of the day. The rest of the orphanage was one more thing to deal with; not all of them knew me, but almost all of them immediately realized that a freaking _Jedi Padawan_ was in their midst, and that's when the questions started. I couldn't begin to answer them all, particularly when I noticed that a couple of the smaller kids seemed slightly Force-attuned, though not quite Force-sensitive; considering my vision, I knew that would change eventually. By the time it was over, day had given way to night; as such, I decided to spend one last night in my room before embarking on my mission.

At first light, I had a quick breakfast, said goodbye to Ms. Madison, and left for the abandoned playground where the breach was. When I arrived, I stretched my feelings out toward the breach in hopes of figuring out exactly what I was supposed to do to get back to the galaxy; to my surprise, the breach seemed to "shift" every couple of milliseconds, cycling between two separate exit locations; one was on some odd planet, in the belly of what was undoubtedly a Separatist research facility... and the other was in mid-air, in the Coruscant skyline, with speeders, ships, and freighters of all shapes and sizes speeding below.

Since the former was out of the question, I would have to brave the latter. Which would require using several Force abilities at once: telekinesis to control and slow my fall so that I could find a speeder or something to land on without being hit by one on the way down, force-precognition and force-enhanced reflexes to navigate and tell me which way to fall using said telekinesis, force-enhanced durability to ensure that once I landed I wouldn't break every bone in my body, and finally using the Force to "anchor" myself to whatever speeder or ship I landed on. And that wasn't including the use of the Force to open the breach or the force-enhanced reflexes and speed necessary to leap through right as the Coruscant exit came up so I didn't strand myself on a Separatist world.

No pressure.

I took a deep breath, centered myself, placed my trust in the Force... and leapt.

* * *

The instant Anakin left, Kenobi sensed that it was time to reveal all to the Council; at first, he wondered why it would allow him to tell the Council everything but only allow him to give a general warning to Anakin, but further reflection—and his own intuition—told him that Anakin would be better served by uncovering the truth for himself. As such, he called for an emergency Council meeting; thankfully, the entire Council happened to be on Coruscant at the time, which would hopefully prevent their most powerful members from falling prey to Order 66. Unfortunately, not all of them were easily convinced by his story.

"I promise you, it's all true. Every word."

Ki-Adi-Mundi scoffed at the statement. "You cannot expect us to truly believe—"

"Explain a great deal, Master Kenobi's story would; wise it would be to heed his warning."

"Even if it _is_ true," said Adi-Mundi sceptically, "That still leaves the matter of Skywalker's gross violation of the Jedi Code to consider, although I am relieved that Master Kenobi was willing to bring that to our attention the moment he received this... information."

"Actually, I have known about his marriage for about a month as of now."

The room went silent at Kenobi's casual statement; Master Koth eventually broke the silence. "And you allowed it? The Code is very clear on the matter. Attachments are a path toward the Dark Side—"

"That is where you—all of us—are wrong, and have been wrong since the Ruusaan Reformation. I did some research on the subject; long ago, the Jedi did not have that restriction. It took a misguided decision regarding the marriage of a Master Jolee Bindo to add that to the Code; by the time of the Reformation, the reason for that decision had been forgotten like so many other things."

Adi-Mundi spoke again, his tone brooking no argument. "The Code has kept our Order safe and stable for a thousand years, Master Kenobi! To question it now—"

"Is the only thing that will save us."

Now it was Mace Windu's turn to be the source of shock and dismay; before more arguments could be made, he continued. "Master Kenobi was not the only one who discovered Skywalker's secret; in fact, Master Yoda and I have known since the day young Caller arrived."

"Agree with Master Kenobi's sentiment, we do," Yoda stated. "An inspiration to the rest of the Galaxy, we once were; but our refusal of attachment, our distance from the people, our practice of mandatory separation of force-sensitive children from their families, mistakes they were. See us as an inspiration, the Galaxy does not; to many, corrupt and arrogant we are. A boon to Palpatine's plan this view would be, if not for this change."

Windu continued where his diminutive colleague left off. "That is only part of the problem; in truth, the source of the imbalance in the Force is the Order itself. Certain emotions—and yes, this includes romantic attachment—have, in the past, anchored Jedi to the light. By denying this, by forcibly rejecting ALL emotion out of fear of the dark side, we inhibited our connection to the light. Meanwhile, the Sith have been focusing their hatred and aggression for a thousand years; as a result, we diminished the presence of the light and allowed the dark to grow in strength unchecked. In the time that would have been, the problem had grown to the point that the destruction of the Order itself became necessary to recreate the balance by the eventual destruction of the Sith as well, and the rebuilding would have been slow and treacherous indeed. If we are to reverse the process, if we are to avert the future that would have been... we must change our ways, just as the Order did when the Reformation occurred."

"With all due respect," said Kenobi, "We have no more time to debate. The fate of my former padawan can be decided later; for now, we must attend to the matter at hand. The moment Palpatine realizes that his plans have been foiled, he will undoubtedly activate Order 66; I suggest a mandatory evacuation via the _Negotiator_. The clones aboard my flagship have been freed from Palpatine's influence, and it has just enough room to house all of our members... as well as our holocron archives."

The silence permeating the room made clear the effect of his words; after a few more moments, Yoda spoke. "Go to the archives we shall; Master Kenobi, send an evacuation order throughout the temple you must."

* * *

R2 had a mission to accomplish. And in the little astromech droid's mind, it was about time someone asked him to do something this interesting!

The mission in question was only somewhat surprising; hacking the Senate security grid then connecting it with the public holo system was an odd choice—and for everyone but R2, an impossible task—but the very idea was fun enough that the droid didn't ask why. What surprised him was that it was Obi-Wan, not Anakin, who asked him to do it; the former had never truly spoken with him as an equal before—at least, not in the way Anakin and Senator Amidala did.

As he strolled through the halls toward the security grid, R2 beeped and whistled innocently; he still didn't understand the reason for his mission, but he assumed that it was for a prank of epic proportions, and pranks were always fun! He couldn't wait to see the results...

* * *

"Ah, Anakin, my boy! I wasn't expecting you, but in these difficult times a visit is always welcome."

The warm greeting upon entering the Supreme Chancellor's office relieved Anakin's tension somewhat; it reminded him of the many conversations held within the room, conversations that were a welcome escape from a bad day. The notion that Palpatine was a Sith Lord was unthinkable; how could such a fatherly person hide such evil?

"Likewise, Chancellor. How are things going in the senate?"

"Not as smoothly as I would prefer," said the Chancellor. "The senate has rejected a proposal for increased anti-espionage measures. I intend to re-introduce it to the legislature, but I fear that some elements are unwilling to do what must be done to ensure victory in this war."

"You're talking about the Unrestricted Surveillance Act, right? Senator Amidala told me about that recently."

A frown crossed Palpatine's face. "Ah, yes; I admire her idealism, but I fear that liberty must sometimes be sacrificed for security."

Kenobi's words crossed Anakin's mind again. _He always did propose legislation that increased the authority of the Supreme Chancellor... but that's just to win the war, isn't it? He'll give it up once the war is over..._ He did his best to shake the unwelcome thoughts from his head once more.

"I agree to some extent, Chancellor, but the Jedi Council doesn't like it any more than she does, and I think they have a point as well."

"I fear the Jedi may be wrong in this matter; it would not be the first time. I am surprised you place such trust in their wisdom when they restrict you to the extent that they do; surely, they must realize how powerful you are in the Force."

Palpatine's words suddenly seemed out-of-place, until Anakin realized something about them that he hadn't before. _He talks about this sort of thing all the time. Distrusting the Order... implying that they're underappreciating me or holding me back. Why haven't I noticed this until now?_

"I admit the Council frustrates me sometimes, but I wouldn't say they were untrustworthy. Obi-Wan's on the Council, and I trust him."

"Did you trust him with what you did on Tatooine? The incident with the Tusken Raiders and your mother?"

"Well, no, but—"

"Your actions were justified; they killed your mother, so you killed them," Palpatine interjected. "Revenge is a form of justice, but I doubt Master Kenobi would understand. He is too orthodox to comprehend such things."

"Revenge isn't the Jedi way. It's an action motivated by anger."

"But it made you powerful, did it not?"

Anakin stopped again. _That's another thing he keeps talking about; Force, I never realized this before..._

"Anakin? Is something the matter?"

A moment passed before the Chosen One spoke. "...Why do you keep pushing that?"

"Pushing what?"

"Anger making me stronger. You always talk about that, but only when we're alone together. Why?"

A confused expression crossed Palpatine's features. "I don't see anything strange about wanting to see you grow stronger, Anakin. You have so much potential; I hate to see it wasted. I know more about the Force than you think..."

Something clicked in Anakin's mind. Hundreds of conversations with the man passed through his head, accompanied at all times by Obi-Wan's words; slowly, a picture began to form, and one by one the puzzle pieces snapped into place.

"Obi-Wan was right..." Anakin grabbed his lightsaber, activating it and pointing it at the Chancellor. "It _is_ you, isn't it? You're a Sith Lord!"

The fatherly demeanor that had accompanied every word and motion Palpatine made suddenly vanished, replaced with a disturbing calm. "It seems you have discovered the truth before I thought you would. So what will you do now, Anakin? Are you going to kill me?"

"I would certainly like to..." Anakin couldn't help but snarl a bit as he spoke.

"Yes... I know you would... I can feel your anger."

Palpatine's tone shook Anakin to his core; the warmth that had been there was gone, and now the man's voice carried a grave chill.

"You're right. As I said, I want to kill you... but I won't. Not unless you force me to."

The Chancellor frowned at his response. "What."

"You heard me," Anakin said, stepping back for a moment; centering himself, he brought his lightsaber into a defensive posture, pointing it up instead of toward Palpatine. "I see now. You want _me,_ don't you? That's why you've been so nice to me, why you've tried to manipulate me. But I won't give you what you want; if you attack me, I'll defend myself—and if I have to kill you, I will. But I won't strike the first blow. I am a Jedi, now and forever."

A hidden lightsaber appeared in Palpatine's hand, followed by a flash of red. Dropping the act altogether, the man's voice changed entirely, becoming a monstrous growl with an almost demonic timbre. "So be it... Jedi."

* * *

 _ **Figuring out that conversation and finding a way for Anakin to finally wake up and smell the BS was a pain. I'm still not completely happy with it, but I think it's as good as it's going to get.**_


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N:** ** _So I'm back, and the climax continues! IRL has been taking a lot out of my free time lately, but it's not going to keep me from finishing this story._**

 _ **Disney owns Star Wars. They have control. They keep you safe. They are your hope. They have control. They keep you safe...**_

* * *

No one on Coruscant would ever forget the moment Supreme Chancellor Palpatine was exposed as a Sith Lord, least of all the Senate; indeed, almost all of them would claim—in what many saw as a rather amusing attempt at saving face—that of _course_ they knew all along, that they were just about to call the Jedi, that they had been working against the man in secret the entire time.

Padme Amidala would remember none of that. All she would be able to recall was the public holonet displaying a security feed of the Chancellor's office, a billion missing puzzle pieces clicking into horrifying place, and a terror— _Anakin, don't die. Please, my love, come home to me_ —that gripped her heart and wouldn't let go. Even so, fear was never something to stop her from action; as soon as the red lightsaber activated and the duel began, she immediately began issuing orders to her staff and security, knowing full well that a man like Palpatine—if her new estimation about the depths of his malice were accurate—would never allow the Republic to survive him without a parting gift or two to remember him by. Quick messages were sent to known allies and friends in the Senate— _Take your loved ones and flee while you can, trust no one, if the worst should come to pass we will have to organize as quickly as possible—_ as well as orders to prepare her ship for immediate departure. Leaving without Anakin made every bone in her body feel _wrong_ , but so many lives were riding on the outcome that she couldn't leave to chance.

As she continued packing and issuing orders, her eyes were drawn back to the holoscreen. _Stay strong, Ani. Don't let him win. You can do this, I know_ —

The thought was interrupted by an LAAT transport zooming right up to the balcony, armed clones surging out of it and headed straight for her.

* * *

Anakin was many things, but unaware of his own potential he was not. In fact, that was one of many things that, in retrospect, contributed to his arrogance; he was the most powerful Force wielder in recorded history, and he knew it. But power alone meant nothing against an enemy with skill, experience, _and_ power.

This lesson was driven home rather bluntly as his duel with Chancell—no, just Palpatine—began. In spite of his age, the sheer strength and speed behind the man's attacks was almost beyond belief; Anakin, for all his mastery of Form V's physical power, found himself genuinely staggered by several blows. And that didn't even take into account the deadly surges of lightning sizzling from his enemy's fingers and the brutal telekinetic shoves attempting to thrash him about.

 _He's_ better _than me. All this power I have, and it's mostly untapped, but he's far more attuned to the Dark Side than I am to the Light. His power is awakening while I've let mine just sleep... Obi-Wan was right, I_ was _lazy..._

As the two locked blades, Anakin saw a terrible smile form on Palpatine's face. "Foolish boy. Your pitiful strength is no match for the power of the Dark Side."

Anakin attempted to kick the man away to give himself some distance, but to no avail, as Palpatine's speed closed that distance once again almost before he could blink.

"'A Jedi, now and forever'? Pah! You are angry. You _hate_ me. You _never_ belonged with them, and you never will!"

"Shut up." The exposed Sith Lord was shoved violently back by a display of power that surprised even Anakin, and yet the man landed on his feet with little effort.

"Good, good! _That_ is the Anakin I know, the Anakin you _are_ , whether you admit it or not! Stop pretending, boy! Give in to your anger!"

As the fight went on, Anakin found himself under pressure unlike any he had ever felt before; part of him even began to consider Palpatine's taunting words. _If I don't think of something quick, he'll kill me. Maybe he's right... the Dark Side is too powerful,_ he's _too powerful. I pushed him back with that last Force shove, and that came from anger, didn't it?_

He stopped that thought in its tracks, but it wasn't easy. What truly horrified him was that somehow that thought felt strangely alien, and yet familiar—as if someone else, some other version of him, had said it in his voice. The idea of that voice winning worried him more.

 _Dammit, he's toying with me! The only reason I was able to push him at all was because he_ let _me, to make me think the Dark Side had more power. I should have trained more. I shouldn't have been so arrogant. I could have tapped into everything I have long ago, but I'm so used to already being stronger than others that I couldn't imagine someone else approaching that. Ahsoka, Padme, Obi-Wan, Kevin... I'm so sorry. I tried._

The despair ate at him more and more as the fight continued, Palpatine hammering away at his weakening resolve with cruel words that accompanied every savage blow.

* * *

Obi-Wan felt his former padawan's growing despair spike as he finished sending out the evacuation order, and he wasn't the only one concerned, as evidenced by a frightened Ahsoka entering the room in a rush.

"Master Skywalker's in trouble! We need to help him—"

"I know, Ahsoka. Panicking won't save him, though, and you're not ready for that sort of battle."

"But—"

"NO BUTS!" Obi-Wan said, using a tone he hadn't spoken in since Anakin left his tutelage. "You'll be needed here, Ahsoka; help with the evacuation. I'll go to Anakin."

Ahsoka frowned in worry, but nodded all the same and ran off to aid the rest of the temple.

 _Be strong, Anakin; you are not alone. And you never will be._

* * *

As Kenobi rushed to aid his former student, the rest of the Council—along with some of the other senior Jedi at the temple—went to the holocron archives to gather what they could to ensure the preservation of the Order's most vital knowledge. It was there, deep in the oldest archives, where no Jedi had set foot in centuries, that yet another complication was discovered: an ancient device, black and red in color, with an aura of darkness surrounding it.

"What is this? It looks like a Sith artifact, but the quarantine archives are on the other side of the Temple."

"A mystery its origins are, Master Koth," Yoda said, staring in genuine worry at the artifact in question; idly, he wondered how the Jedi could have fallen so low as to fail to notice such a thing hiding under their own noses for so long. "But a mystery to me its functions are not; seen it in the older records I have."

Jedi archivist Jocasta Nu approached, her face white. "As have I. Force, but I had hoped such things were gone forever from the galaxy..."

"What exactly is it?" asked Koth.

The aged woman, Jedi though she was, still required a couple of seconds to summon her courage to speak. "Its name is lost to history, but it is essentially a device that absorbs and stores dark side energies; every time a Jedi in this temple has ever flirted with dark thoughts, however brief, it has stored the residual energies. At the same time, its presence increased the tendencies toward those dark thoughts in Jedi with less control over their emotions, an effect which would have increased exponentially the longer it had been absorbing the energies. Considering its location, it must have been here for at least 800 years, perhaps longer still... but all of that pales in comparison to its true purpose."

"When activated it is, unleashed at once the full might of the dark power within will be; enough to obliterate the entire Temple and half the Temple district, the explosion will likely be. Contain it we must."

Jocasta Nu turned toward Yoda in desperation. "How can we do that? If the device has stored that much power..."

"There is one way: the Wall of Light," Windu stated. "It has not been performed since the ancient Jedi used it to seal away the dark Jedi Exar Kun; the power of the Light has since diminished, however. We will need nearly every Master in the temple, Council and otherwise, to contain its power and prevent it from activating. As for the newer knights, the padawans, and the younglings... they must continue to evacuate without us. The future of the Order will be in their hands, sooner or later; let us pray for the second option."

* * *

Within the chancellor's office, the battle continued to rage. Anakin was under no delusions at this point; it was clear to him that he lived only because Palpatine allowed it, because the man still sought to take him for an apprentice. To Anakin's horror, the parts of him that Palpatine was speaking to—his deepest fears, his growing frustration and mounting anger—were beginning to listen, and as a result he felt his focus on the Light begin to slip further and further. Only one thought kept the darkness away, one thought alone...

"Heh. Your thoughts betray you, boy. You love your wife, don't you?"

The shock of those words startled Anakin enough that Palpatine was able to send him flying into a wall with a powerful telekinetic surge that left him pinned.

"Don't... don't you touch her..."

A cruel mockery of sympathy crossed Palpatine's face. "Oh my! Harm her? Why, Anakin, I would not dare touch the woman you love. Of course, there are ways of dealing with people that allow for a less, physical approach. For example, imagine clone troopers assaulting her luxurious apartment, slaying all within... and incapacitating her with a poison of my own creation."

The horror that ran through him chilled him to the bone. "No. The clones would never do that..."

Anakin could feel the blood draining from his face as the fake frown quickly became a truly sadistic grin. "Who do you think ordered their creation? Deep within each and every one is a trigger that will make them my slaves the moment I speak it! I did not anticipate you discovering my identity so quickly, but I could sense the Order's growing suspicion, so I sent a trigger message to some of the very clones you yourself brought with you to Coruscant. In the event of my exposure, they are to immediately attack your wife's penthouse and carry out my will upon her! Sith Alchemy is one of my many talents, my young apprentice. Once my poison courses through her veins, she will enter an endless sleep filled with nightmares beyond imagining from which she will never wake. There is no antidote, and no cure... save for one: Sith Alchemy. Only through the Dark Side can my poison be cured, and _I_ will never do so! Submit to me, become my apprentice and learn the ways of the Dark Side, so that you might one day learn enough to save your wife!"

Each and every word was an agony for Anakin, and his resolve slowly began to slip as his anger slowly rose in spite of his failing will. "I'll... I'll never... I'll n-never join you..."

"Oh, but you will. Because every lesson you learn from me is one you might use against me later, to cure your wife, to avenge her suffering at my hand. If you refuse, she will suffer every moment of every day until her death, and there will be nothing anyone can do to stop it! There is no escape, my young apprentice—for you, or anyone!"

Anakin felt something in him begin to shatter. _Padme, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry... I can't let you die..._

"ANAKIN!"

Suddenly, he felt his broken spirit piece itself together at the sound of a new voice; both men turned to the source to see no less than Obi-Wan Kenobi standing in the doorway.

"Don't listen to him, Anakin. Padme is safe!"

Palpatine snarled, returning his glare to Anakin. "He lies! By now your wife is—"

"I swore to protect Padme, Anakin, and I meant every word! The troops he sent are freed of their conditioning—Kevin saw to that! They're bringing Padme to the Negotiator right now!"

Anakin's relief overcame every question Kenobi's words brought up; explanations could come later. For now, all that mattered was that Padme was safe. The fear that had nearly swallowed him vanished, banished by the power of hope and love; those feelings were visibly having the opposite effect on Palpatine, who lost the ability to hold him to the wall and was forced to step back.

"If you will not be turned, you will be destroyed! No more holding back; now, you face my full **wrath! KNOW THE UNLIMITED POWER OF THE DARK SIDE!"**

Suddenly, the two Jedi were bombarded with wave after wave of darkness, darkness so black and devoid of light that it seemed to defile every inch of the place in the most obscene and abominable aura either of them had ever felt. The very air felt filthy and wrong, and soon the entire room had been consumed by the vile power emanating from Palpatine—now well and truly unveiled, as his new wrinkled and demonic complexion showed—until only their two small Light Side auras remained.

Surrounded by this evil power, Anakin held on to every good feeling he could—his pride in Ahsoka, his brotherly bond with Kenobi, and most of all, his undying love for Padme—and with the aid of his brother in all but blood, the true battle began.

* * *

 _ **Sorry for how short this is, but again, IRL is hounding me and IRL must always come first. Keep your hats on, there are only a few more chapters to go!**_


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N:** ** _Much as I love doing this fic, I can't wait until I'm done with it—it'll be the very first multi-chapter fic (since my three-part Skyrim one, and that was more of a trilogy of one-shots than a real multi-chapter fic) that I've ever completed. It'll also mean more free time to work on my other plot bunnies, as well as continue my jumpchain fic._**

 _ **Disney owns Star Wars. Bend the knee or be destroyed.**_

* * *

As I emerged from the breach into the skies above Coruscant, I had only a split-second to look around before my freefall began; in that split-second, though, I noticed the _Negotiator_ slowly moving towards the temple. For a moment, I wondered if my alterations to the Order 66 code had failed; I had little time to dwell on it, however, as I needed to focus on the Force, letting it guide me to avoid getting hit by any speeders as I fell. It wasn't so different in feeling than using Soresu; you feel a subtle mental "nudge" of sorts, telling you where to move and what to do.

 _Spread-eagle to help slow the fall._

 _Lean left._

 _Left._

 _Lean forward._

 _Right._

 _Left._

 _Wait._

 _Wait._

 _Wait._

 _NOW._

At that last nudge, I quickly enhanced my physical durability as I used telekinesis to further slow my fall and position myself upright at the last second. The result was that I landed feet-first on the roof of some poor guy's speeder, probably scaring the daylights out of him.

 **"Choi?! Kee chai cun kriff kuta?!"**

I carefully slid through the passenger-side window, ignoring the Dug's rant and replying in Huttese.

 **-"Take me to the Jedi Temple! Hurry!"-**

 **"Otoh noto wo kark jeedai poodoo, du kriff wompity!"**

One of the few things I didn't learn of Huttese from Master Ceelia back when I first started were what the curse words meant; considering this guy's tone, though, no translation was needed.

* * *

Padme was still trying to come to terms with everything that had just happened as she arrived on the bridge of the _Negotiator_ ; thankfully, Fives was there to help explain.

"So Obi-Wan planned all of this? How did he know?"

"Yes to that first question, Senator. As for the second," Fives replied with an exasperated smirk, "to be honest, Senator, I never really have a clue how the General knows half the things he knows; I've always just assumed it was a Jedi thing."

 _ **"** **Senator Amidala, I wish these were better circumstances, but..."**_

Padme shook her head in response to the holocall image. "No time for formalities, Duchess Satine. I don't exactly know what's happening myself, but if I had to guess, he's either at the temple overseeing its evacuation... or fighting Palpatine alongside Ani."

 _ **"** **I could hardly believe it myself when Obi-Wan contacted me** **last night,"** _Satine said; the first-name basis confirmed a couple of Padme's suspicions about the Duchess and Kenobi, but she remained silent as the former continued. _ **"To think that the supreme chancellor was behind everything... in any case, whatever happens you, the Jedi, and whoever else may require sanctuary will be safe in the Neutral systems. Mandalore may not have much of a standing fleet—we are a pacifist society now, after all—but thankfully some of our other allies in the League had the foresight to build something of a small fleet up just in case. I disapproved of the notion of 'enforced neutrality' at the time, but for now it seems to be an unfortunate necessity."**_

"Should Palpatine win, I fear he may not respect that neutrality, enforced or no. But a fleet will definitely be of use; if my guess about Obi-Wan's plan is correct, he wants us to help set the stage for an organized rebellion in that event. So long as Bail Organa and Mon Mothma received my calls in time—and I don't see why they shouldn't have—between the four of us, we will add Alderaan, Naboo, and Chandrila to the League of Neutral Systems, which should be enough to support an effective rebellion; let us pray that it will not be necessary."

Satine frowned, a distant expression on her face. _**"I already am praying, Padme."**_

"As am I."

A moment of understanding passed between the two before it was interrupted by Fives. "Senator, Duchess, I'm getting a call from Mon Cal. Apparently the General contacted one of their military leaders, and they'd like to lend their support as well."

* * *

 _Kenobi. It could only be Kenobi._

Count Dooku observed the ongoing feed from his spies on Coruscant and Mandalore with a rather calm expression; behind that expression, however, lay mounting frustration and anger, though carefully focused. He had certainly not seen this eventuality coming; in retrospect, he realized his arrogance in believing that he alone would have access to knowledge of the other world—after all, up until recently there had been no sign at all that Kenobi's padawan had revealed anything to the Jedi Order—but there was no other explanation. Somehow, Caller had informed Kenobi of everything. It had to have been immediately after Kamino; had Kenobi known earlier, they probably could have prevented that battle altogether.

 _Ruminating on the past is useless; the dejariik board has changed, but all that means is that I have to move even more quickly than before. The alliance he is setting up is clearly meant to be a stronger analogue to the Rebel Alliance of a different time; should Palpatine emerge victorious, the resulting civil war should grant me time to further consolidate my fleet in preparation for my invasion of Earth. If not, the Galaxy will be united, and I will simply have to send what forces I already have through the portal and use Earth as a sanctuary in which to build more while the Jedi and the Republic fumble around for a way to replicate our technology._

A Galactic Empire or a Rebel Alliance, drained from fighting a civil war, he could easily defeat; a Galaxy united would be far more difficult.

 _Never did I suspect that I would genuinely pray for Sidious' victory..._

He switched off the feed and sent a holocall to his new apprentice; it was not long before the young man in question answered.

 _ **"** **Yes, my master?"**_

"Inform the Supervisor of Research and Development that their timetable has shifted; they are to complete construction of the portal array on this ship by the day's end."

 _ **"** **Construction is nearly complete, but it may take longer than that. What should I say to them?"  
**_

"Inform them that their new Emperor commands it. Should that fail... kill the Supervisor in front of his men, then promote his second in his place. That should provide sufficient motivation."

 _ **"** **As you wish, my master."**_

As the holocall ended, Dooku turned to take one last look at Serenno through the bridge viewport; a wave of nostalgia, tinged with regret, passed through him as he did so. He quickly crushed it and steeled himself for what was to come. _The course is set and the die is cast. What will be, let it be._

* * *

 **"Pushee, kankee chuba jeedai schutta!"**

 **-"Sorry about that again, thank you, bye!"-**

As soon as the speeder was safely over the Temple platform I leapt out and broke into a run as the cursing continued, fading off into the distance; I was in such a rush that I almost ran straight into Ahsoka.

"Kevin?! How did you get b—"

"No time to explain, we—"

"Kevin, there's something bad down in the archives and it might blow up the temple! The Council and a bunch of other Masters are dealing with it, but we're evacuating on the _Negotiator_ just in case!"

 _The Negotiator... so I_ did _do it right, hopefully. Better leave whatever's down there to the Council—_

No sooner did the thought cross my mind than I got another nudge from the Force. Now, the Force doesn't really _talk,_ per se, but you get feelings that are occasionally strong enough to put into a general sentence that kind-of-sort-of carries the meaning in a way non-sensitives can understand; this one was pretty clear to me, despite the fact that the best wording I could give to the feeling is pretty vague (again, the Force is impossible to really describe if you're not sensitive):

 _Every spark of light makes a difference._

Judging from Ahsoka's expression, she felt it too; our simultaneous response confirmed it.

"Down to the archives! We need to hurry!"

* * *

Yoda had told Obi-Wan once about a mysterious warning from a Jedi he knew long ago; of the Sith, there are always two: a master and an apprentice. From the time the war began up until Kamino, he had always believed Dooku to be the master. The man certainly fit the image of a Sith master; arrogant, manipulative, and intimidatingly powerful in the Force.

Now that he was faced with the true master, however, Obi-Wan would never make that mistake again; the only true frame of reference with regards to Sidious' skill and power he could think of was that of Yoda, and perhaps even stronger than that. In short, Sidious wasn't simply a man, but a true _monster._ It took everything Obi-Wan had just to avoid death half the time, whether from the creature's lightning, its fierce telekinetic strikes, and its waves of darkness... to say nothing of its skill in swordplay, which was on a level he had not seen in ages. Its attacks came in seemingly random staccato bursts in which Obi-Wan could barely _see_ the blade, and those few power attacks it used were enough to nearly make his bones rattle with the impact of parrying. Had Kenobi been alone, he would have likely died in mere moments.

 _But I'm not alone,_ he assured himself. _Anakin—my friend, my brother—is here. And the Force is with us._

Indeed, while the straits were dire, both Jedi were slowly beginning to adjust to Sidious' impossible speed and power; a true battle between Darkness and Light was being waged in that room, with the fate of the galaxy at stake.

Sidious roared; the Darkness responded to its call, surging forth. Anakin and Obi-Wan stretched out with their feelings and met the attack head-on together; the Light guided their blades and steadied them as they pushed back the shadows. The Dark Lord of the Sith sent waves of lightning at Anakin, who deftly stopped it with his lightsaber before retaliating with a powerful Form V strike; Palpatine sent out a telekinetic surge that forced the Chosen One back, only to find Obi-Wan in his place as Anakin rushed to flank. The two Jedi fought in perfect tandem, acting as one.

And still the fight went on. For all their unity, Palpatine was still a monster, and its strength had not abated; the only sign that they had any chance of winning was the growing frustration on its demonic visage and the angry growls it unleashed.

 **"Damnable Jedi! Fall! Die! Kneel before the power of the Dark Side!"**

"You've already lost, 'Chancellor'," Anakin replied with a determined stare. "You've been exposed for what you are; your reign is over!"

 **"Heh... hehehe... hahHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"**

The demoniac howling laughter erupting from their enemy sent chills through the two Jedi.

 **"You're right. I gambled and lost. But if I perish... THEN SO SHALL THE JEDI!"**

A wave of darkness beyond any other they had experienced threw them back and shattered the windows as Sidious raised its hands in the direction of the Jedi Temple, chanting in a tongue that sounded every bit as obscene and vile as the thing itself; it was then that Obi-Wan realized, to his horror, what it was doing.

 **"Watch as your precious order dies in darkness!"**

* * *

Within the Temple archives, some of the greatest Masters of the order—council and otherwise—stood in a circle around the Sith device, focusing their power against it. Without warning, it surged forth with evil energy, nearly taking them by surprise; they barely had time to brace themselves against it, let alone push it back.

Jedi Master Ki-Adi-Mundi felt genuine horror for the first time in nearly half a century. _Such power... how could we have missed this hiding deep within our temple?_ In spite of that horror, he renewed his focus as best he could as the Council chanted the Jedi Code.

"Emotion, yet peace!"

The darkness surged as the Light battled it.

"Ignorance, yet knowledge!"

The Masters focused their collective will to stem the evil tide.

"Passion, yet serenity!"

The darkness surged yet again, slowly breaking its confinement...

"Chaos, yet harmony..."

The Jedi buckled as the darkness came forth to swallow them—

"Death, yet the Force!"

The Masters turned at the two new voices as Ahsoka and Kevin joined the circle, adding their relatively meager strength to bolster the power of the Light; suddenly, the Darkness halted in its tracks. The chanting continued, now emboldened by the voices of the two padawans as the shadows were repulsed.

"Emotion, yet peace!"

"Ignorance, yet knowledge!"

"Passion, yet serenity!"

 **"Chaos, yet harmony!"**

 _ **"Death, yet the Force!"**_

To those who were not sensitive to the force, nothing would have been seen or felt; to those who were, a blinding wall of pure light shot through the heart of the Temple, bathing it in its glow as the darkness was banished.

* * *

 **"No... impossible..."**

The power of the Wall of Light was felt all the way in the Senate building as all three combatants stared in shock at the towering beacon of light coming from the Temple; even the darkness filling the room seemed to shrink back in fear of it.

 **"Imposs** ible... The Dark Side... there's... it's not..."

With a terrible growl, Sidious turned its gaze back to the two Jedi. "YOU! YOU'VE RUINED _EVERYTHING!_ DIE—"

A flash of red. A flash of blue.

"I... I... n-no..."

Two lightsabers deactivated; a body staggered back in shock, falling out the window towards inevitable death.

With a gurgle, not a roar; with a pitiful blink, not a final surge of power; without grandeur nor glory.

Thus died Darth Sidious.

* * *

 _ **I did my best to give Sidious a good run before his comeuppance; now all that's left is the real villain of this fic, and an epilogue. Read and review, and I'll see you next chapter!**_


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N:** **_Sorry about the wait, people! IRL caught up to me, then I started streaming (my twitch channel is CoGDork, and I stream Thursdays and Saturdays; go check it out if you have the time), and then Smash Bros took up the rest of the time._**

 _ **Disney owns Star Wars. Bow down to their imperial might while you still can.**_

* * *

Anakin dropped to his knees, looking out the window of the former Chancellor's office with an unreadable expression; Obi-Wan, sensing the inner turmoil from his former padawan, knelt beside him with a sorrowful face.

"Anakin... I'm so sorry. I know you respected him..."

The chosen one shook his head. "I still can't believe how blind I was, Obi-Wan. Some part of me still wants to believe that it wasn't _really_ him, that it was an impostor, that the man I saw as a father—the only father I ever really had—wasn't just a lie; Force, I can't bring myself to toss the good memories of him away, even now."

A long silence passed between the two; after a while, Anakin sighed deeply and continued speaking.

"But the worst thing is that some part of me is still mourning him. Even after everything that he did, everything he would have done... everything that _I_ would have done..."

A look of surprise crossed Kenobi's face as Anakin gave a wry chuckle. "It happened not long after he revealed himself to me, when he said he could feel my anger; the Force showed me everything. Everything that would have happened, everything that _Kevin_ knows would have happened: my fall, the rebellion, Luke and Leia, your death, Yoda... and my end. It all rushed by so quickly, but at the same time it didn't leave anything out. The thought that I would turn into... _that..._ I don't know if I'll ever be able to trust myself again, not completely. If I had that much darkness inside me all along that I could do those things—"

Obi-Wan placed his hand on Anakin's shoulder, cutting him off. "Don't. That was another you entirely; those crimes were not committed in this world, nor will they ever be. You won't fall to the Dark Side, Anakin; we won't let you. Kevin, Ahsoka, Padme... and myself. We will never abandon you, nor let the darkness take you."

"Thank you. That... that means a lot to me. More than you realize," he replied. "And now that I know that for sure... I think I'll be okay; even if the Order excommunicates me, I think I'll be okay from now on. To be honest, I'm more worried about whether or not I can grow up enough to be a decent father by the time the twins are born than I am about what the council might do."

Kenobi looked over the city towards the Jedi Temple. "I wouldn't worry about the Council anyway, Anakin; something tells me that things will be different in the Order, and for the better—"

A sudden silence came over the elder Jedi; Anakin didn't need to ask what the source of it was, instead giving a friendly smile. "Let's get out of here already, Obi-Wan; our padawans are probably having fits worrying over us."

* * *

I had a lot to explain to the Council very quickly, but them already knowing about most of it made it a lot easier. As Ahsoka and I rushed toward the shuttle to the _Negotiator_ to face the final battle, a speeder arrived with two familiar faces; one in particular caused a welling up of emotion that I didn't expect, and I'm not entirely sure it wasn't mutual.

"Kevin!"

"Master Obi-Wan!"

And no, I am absolutely not too proud to admit that I sort of tackle-glomped him; thankfully, the hug was returned, though Master Skywalker ruffling my hair felt a little bit awkward, as did Ahsoka's natural teasing reaction.

"Well, now I wish I had my datapad—this would have been a perfect moment for a holo!"

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up," I said, before remembering the whole 'crisis' thing. "Master Obi-Wan, the reunion will have to wait. We need to assemble a fleet and head straight for Serenno, now!"

"Wait, why Seren—Of course. Dooku," Master Obi-Wan said, the puzzled expression quickly disappearing. "But why now? What have you discovered?"

"He knows, Master. He knows about my world, he's got tech that can open a portal there, and he's getting ready to take a fleet to invade! Master, Earth doesn't have anywhere near the tech level the Galaxy has; we have to move now!"

Anakin took in the constant movement around us. "Judging from all this activity, I'd say the sentiment is shared by the rest of the Order. But something tells me we're going to need a fleet of our own, and getting one together on short notice is going to be a problem—"

"Not necessarily, Anakin," Master Obi-Wan said, giving his patented 'I have a plan' smirk. "I put a bit of a contingency plan into motion in the event we failed to stop Palpatine; I contacted Satine and a number of other trustworthy figures last night and told them about his plot. Considering that the Neutral Systems already had a fleet prepared in the event that they had to defend their neutrality by force, they should have had plenty of time to muster it by now—and the plan called for them to help escort the _Negotiator_ safely to the Outer Rim. Once we join up with them—as we were planning to anyway—we can simply inform them of the new target."

Remembering something else, I spoke up again. "Master Obi-Wan, there's one more thing I learned... it has to do with why the Force brought me here. It's about what I have to do once we get to Serenno."

There was a pause, and I decided to continue. "I found out that I wasn't the only one from my world that was awakened to the Force; someone I knew there has it too, and somehow Dooku got his claws into him. I saw a vision, and... well, according to that vision, I'm the one who has to face this guy personally. Alone."

"Kevin, visions can be misleading," Master Skywalker said nervously. "I know that now more than ever."

"I know, but this is the way it's supposed to happen—I can feel it. The Force intended for this to happen from the start; I don't know exactly how it will unfold, and I don't know precisely how to bring it about. All I can do is trust that the Force will tell me how to act when the time comes."

Another pause occurred; this one lasted a little longer, broken by a smile from Master Obi-Wan. "Well then, let's not keep the Force waiting; we have a battle to attend, and one final Sith to defeat."

* * *

The Sith Lord in question was feeling more pressured than he had been in years; he was already aware of Sidious' defeat, having felt it all the way across the Galaxy. The Republic would almost certainly be coming for him soon, and every minute he could use to gather more ships to his fleet was vital, even now that the portal device on his flagship had been installed. Frowning, he ran the scenario through his head one more time:

 _At the current rate of arrival of our ships to this mustering point, taking into account the distance from here to the Core, as well as the likely size of the Republic fleet... by the time the Republic fleet arrives, we should have the greater number of ships—but only just so. It wouldn't translate to any sort of numerical advantage,_ he mused. In spite of that analysis, however, Dooku smiled. _But by then, I will already have plenty of ships with which to conquer Earth, and the rest can simply play the role of sacrificial nerf while the portal drive charges up—and that shouldn't take more than a few minutes itself, which is more than enough time to hold the Republic fleet off; their only chance to stop me would be for a team to board this ship, and even if they were to do that, I've taken measures to ensure that any attempt to shut down the portal drive or disable my ship's defenses would be doomed to failure._

His smile grew wider. The Jedi were too late; he had already won. The game of dejariik was over, and now all that was left was to demonstrate that fact to the Galaxy at large.

A few hours later, the Republic fleet arrived, just as Dooku predicted; immediately ordering the bulk of his fleet into defensive formations around his invasion force, he transmitted orders to the Portal Drive deck to begin charging the device. His cool was undisturbed, even when the ship's systems alerted him to a small assault transport boarding; instead, he simply turned to his apprentice. "Darth Iudex... dispose of them."

"As you wish, Master."

* * *

Ahsoka and I directed the clone troopers to hold the docking bay as we fought through several weak battle droid units toward the elevators.

"Kevin, are you sure about this? R2 here can handle the technical stuff just fine," Ahsoka said, gesturing to the iconic blue astromech droid, who whistled worriedly. "And besides, this guy you know... he's fallen to the Dark Side. All the masters have said that once that happens, it's over..."

I shook my head. "We stick to the plan, Ahsoka. As for Marsh... you're wrong. The Dark Side isn't forever; I know I can reach him somehow. Trust me."

She nodded with a serious expression as she and R2 ran off to one of the elevators do their part. "Alright then. Just do me a favor and don't die, okay?"

I responded with a simple wave as I got on a different elevator, headed for the bridge deck; closing my eyes and reaching out with the Force, I noticed that the ship only had a few battle droids on it, the only real threat on the bridge deck standing between me and Dooku being Marsh himself. I could sense the darkness in him already... but I could also sense light, just barely flickering in the shadow. I sucked in a deep breath as the elevator slowed to a stop, stepping off the elevator as soon as the doors opened.

"Caller... somehow, I knew it would be you."

Staring down the corridor at me was none other than Marshall Dalton himself, dressed in black robes with a black hood and wielding a red lightsaber; the most striking thing about him, though, was the sight of the signature orange-red eyes of a Dark Side user. The bitterness in his voice only added to the effect.

"Marsh—"

"DON'T. Use that name; I am Darth Iudex. _Dalton_ ," he said with a disgusted sneer, "Was the name of that fucker who Marshall was stupid enough to call a father. I refuse to acknowledge that man in any way—and as for Marsh, he was a weakling who didn't have the guts to make the bastard pay for all the shit he did!"

I looked at him for a while before responding. "You're wrong. I don't know exactly what happened with your dad, but this isn't going to solve anything... Marsh."

"I SAID DON'T CALL ME THAT!"

The sudden assault came so quickly that I barely had time to turn on my lightsaber before he took my head off; in less than a second, he had launched himself across the corridor and was in my face, a snarl on his features as he unleashed his rage on me. It was clear right off the bat that he was nothing short of a natural with a lightsaber, and having been personally trained by one of the greatest masters of Form II who ever lived didn't hurt; thankfully, I had been trained by one of the finest duelists ever as well, and was able to fend off the assault as I considered how best to reach him.

"Tell me, then, Darth Iudex, why'd you sign up with Dooku? Don't you realize that he's just using you for his own ends?"

"Spoken like a Jedi. Stupid and naive, just like he said!"

Marsh didn't let up for even a second with his offense, sending out a telekinetic wave that nearly knocked me flat before I recovered. He continued his rant as he drove me back further: "Earth is broken. People like _Gregory Dalton_ are everywhere, doing whatever they want to whoever they want, and worst of all, even when people KNOW something is wrong, they don't fucking do anything about it! They'd rather pretend everything is fine than lift a finger to fix the problem! You honestly think a world like that is going to change on its own?!"

He finally managed to hit me with a sudden punch to the gut, forcing me to leap back and put distance between us again to avoid instant death. "Oof... Marsh, nothing changes on its own. But trying to shove that change down peoples' throats isn't going to work!"

"See?! You're the same as everyone else! It's all about 'protecting free will' or 'freedom of speech' or some shit like that that people use to justify doing NOTHING! They'll never learn unless someone beats them over the head with the point again and again, until they learn... or they're DEAD!"

Another rapid assault, the tip of his lightsaber missing me by a fraction of an inch at times; the only thing keeping me alive was my calm, passive defense, allowing the Force to flow through me and guide my actions. "That's not how it works, Marsh—and you're wrong about that first part! It's got nothing to do with protecting free will or free speech; you force it down their throats, they'll only learn to hide it better! Once the fear of punishment is gone—and eventually, they'll hate you more than they fear punishment—they'll snap right back to that behavior, and nothing will be any different than before except innocent people will suffer right along with the guilty! You have to make the world _want_ to change, but more than that, they need to _believe_ it can change!"

A flicker of light grew stronger inside him for a brief moment before his range shoved it down again; somehow, I was reaching him, but he still didn't want to hear it.

"Shut up! What do _you_ know about any of this? They'll never 'believe' it can change, because they know it's impossible!"

"LOOK WHERE WE ARE, MARSH!"

There was a pause in his offense, just long enough for me to back away; to my surprise, he didn't immediately pursue, instead standing in shock as I continued.

"We're in another universe, fighting with lightsabers, USING THE FORCE. How the hell does 'impossible' exist anymore? The Force exists on Earth now, too; there are going to be more and more people sensitive to it, and as that happens it'll become harder and harder to ignore that _everything has already changed._ We just have to show them how to use that change to fix things!"

He shook his head, pointing his lightsaber at me threateningly. "Wh-what's with this 'we' shit? You're wrong! You're trying to trick me! You're trying to distract me so you can kill me and stop me from doing what has to be done!"

I sighed deeply. _So that's how it's going to be..._ "Fine. You want me to prove otherwise?" I turned off my lightsaber and tossed it aside, leaving myself defenseless. "We weren't awakened to the Force by accident, Marsh; we were both meant to do something greater. We can fix Earth together, but by _teaching_ and _inspiring_ , not with death and destruction. If you still believe that's impossible, then you should just kill me right now; I won't even lift a finger to stop you. But if there's even one small part of you... even a fraction of you, that still thinks there's hope... then _help me._ "

The resulting silence seemed to stretch on for an eternity; finally, with an angry roar, he charged me.

 _Marsh..._

He closed the distance.

 _I know some part of you heard me._

His lightsaber swung back in preparation for a killing blow.

 _Please, just listen..._

I closed my eyes at the last second, only to experience a strong punch connecting with my jaw and sending me to the floor; rubbing the injury, I looked up to see that Marsh had turned off his lightsaber at the last second... and was _crying._

"Dammit... damn you... damn it all."

Smiling, I stood back up and called my lightsaber back into my hand.

"How... how did you know I wouldn't do it?"

"I didn't. I just trusted you."

A dry chuckle escaped his lips as the tears continued. "Heh... trust... I beat the hell out of you daily. Why would you trust me?"

"Like I said before, we're meant for something greater. Marsh... I saw a vision. Remember how I said the Force exists on Earth now, and that some people are going to awaken to it over time? Well, as that happens, there's going to be a need for some group to help guide those people... and to serve as an example for the rest of the planet."

He looked up to me in shock; I smiled back. "That's right, Marsh; a new Jedi Order, on Earth. We're supposed to help start it up. With the Force, we'll be able to do the impossible right in front of people; we'll be able to protect the innocent in ways no one else could before, and through that we'll show them that _nothing is impossible._ Once they see that, they won't be afraid anymore; they'll believe the world can change, and we can show them _how._ "

As my words sank in, he lowered his head for a few moments before speaking calmly. "Dooku... you won't be able to shut off the portal drive. He set up the bridge so that he can run the ship all on his own, all on one control panel; the controls have a genetic lock on them that only he can override, and there are a billion and one anti-hacking defenses. He didn't trust anyone but himself to run his ship... not even me."

"I figured as much," I replied. "Fortunately, there are other ways of dealing with that problem, but right now I still need to keep Dooku's attention for it to work."

His eyes widened in shock as he realized what it was I was about to suggest. "You'll never survive him alone, Kevin—he'd kill you in a heartbeat."

"Who said anything about facing him alone, Marsh? Come on—if we're going to team up eventually, we might as well start now!"

* * *

"Hmph. Pitiful," Dooku said, turning to see Caller and his own apprentice standing side-by-side behind him on the bridge. "You hold such promise, Darth Iudex, and yet you abandon our cause— _your_ cause—because of foolish sentiment? I thought you stronger than that."

The apprentice in question glared at him. "You found me at my lowest point, and you used that to control me. You used _me._ "

"Of course I did. But tell me, did I deceive you? Did I ever say that such was not the case? You were a tool, Iudex, but a tool for a greater purpose. You can still be a part of it..."

"That's where you're wrong, Dooku," Kenobi's damnable padawan interjected. "Your 'greater purpose' is a lie, whether you realize it or not. And we're not going to let you spread it!"

Caller reached out his hands and pulled several viewscreens above and behind the Sith Lord off their mountings, sending them crashing towards him; Dooku dodged them with ease, landing gracefully a few feet away. _Amateur. As if I couldn't see through a simple trick like that one..._

"Come at me, then, if you seek to join the Force. But do not think that I have any issue with killing children."

 _Iudex still holds on to some of his anger, and his heart is still torn; he may yet be salvageable, but I will have to play it carefully._

The pair charged him, their inexperience showing as he easily deflected their attacks, responding with quick light cuts just deep enough to cause pain and drive home their impotence relative to him; to their credit, they did not give up, and even began to show creativity—Iudex in particular showed clever initiative with an attempted lightsaber throw that missed its target completely. It soon became tedious, however, and Dooku decided to end things quickly, downing Kevin with a light cut to the thigh and shoving Iudex back against the wall.

"Amusing. Did you truly think you could deceive me? I know perfectly well that togruta girl is on this ship, and that she ran toward the hyperdrive reactor immediately upon landing with you, clearly trying in vain to find some method of sabotage; a useless gesture. The only controls are right here in this room, and the core is protected with several layers of ray shielding against any physical destruction she could hope to unleash upon it. Your so-called 'plan' to stop this ship was doomed to failure from the start, young Caller. As for you, Darth Iudex," He said, turning towards his wayward apprentice, "I know you still have yet to abandon my teachings; this is your opportunity to prove your resolve, to demonstrate that you are willing to do what must be done for the greater good. Caller attempted to deceive you, to grant you false hope, and now he seeks to stop you from your destiny; kill him now, and remove the last obstacle towards our victory!"

To his mild surprise, the response was a clear refusal. "No. I won't. I'm not your pawn anymore, _master._ "

"Oh, and by the way," Caller said with a smirk, "You were wrong about our plan; she's not the only one who came with us. And who said anything about _stopping_ the ship?"

Dooku's eyes widened as he whipped around to see the control panels and viewscreens destroyed; in a moment, it dawned on him. _That opening move wasn't an attack. It was meant to destroy the viewscreens and keep me from seeing the readouts, to keep me from seeing what the real sabotage was—_

His surprise turned to shock as he realized the true target. _The Portal Drive! It isn't protected like the reactor core... because I rushed its construction!_

Before he could completely process or question who it was that must have hidden from him long enough to sabotage the portal drive, the answer swooped by the viewport in a transport; as it zoomed around to connect to the emergency docking hatch, he caught a glimpse of a familiar blue droid that he had seen at the side of Anakin Skywalker many times before. The airlock opened to reveal Ahsoka Tano, with Iudex grabbing Caller and leaping into it before boarding the transport... which immediately fired upon the hatch, rendering it useless.

Without a moment to spare, Dooku attempted to call up the status of the portal drive on one of the smaller screens on the main control panel... only to see that the stabilization matrix had been short-circuited; in mere moments, the ship would spawn an unstable portal that would tear it apart.

To his credit, Dooku did not react with fear, or rage, or denial; seeing his impending death, he chuckled quietly to himself, recalling every event that had led him to this point.

"Perhaps I was wrong, after all."

The blinding light and heat ended all subsequent thought; as he passed from the mortal coil, he could have sworn he saw Qui-Gon waiting for him...

* * *

 _ **Next up, the epilogue. Read and review!**_


	21. Epilogue

" _'No thank you?!'_ I mean, I get _why_ , but to turn down a knighthood..."

Ahsoka looked at me like I was growing an extra head; after Dooku's flagship was destroyed, his fleet fell apart pretty quickly, and the CIS as a whole followed a few days later with most of the CIS worlds returning to the Republic—though a few stubborn holdouts remained. Upon our return to Coruscant, the Council offered that the incident be considered our trial; Ahsoka accepted, becoming a full knight. As she pointed out, though, I politely refused.

"Ahsoka, I've been part of the order for less than a _year_ ; I have a lot more to learn before I'm even partly ready to be a knight. I don't think the Council honestly expected me to accept anyway, even after I told them what Marsh and I were supposed to do."

I looked toward the former Sith apprentice in question, who was staring at his feet while Master Skywalker spoke to him; Marsh was interrogated by the Council shortly after they dismissed Ahsoka and me, but in the end they agreed to allow him to be trained—well, re-trained, considering how much he learned from Dooku—as a Jedi. There wasn't any word on who would be his master yet, but I got the distinct sense that Ahsoka and I were seeing an offer in the process of being made; our suspicions were confirmed by a simple bow from Marsh, who walked towards us after Master Skywalker left.

"It's weird. I told him that I still felt the Dark Side in me, how you felt it too," Marsh said to us with an unreadable expression. "I honestly didn't expect his answer to that."

Ahsoka tilted her head. "So... what was his answer?"

"He said that the darkness in me was exactly why he wanted to take me on as his second; he figured helping me overcome it would help him deal with his own darkness, and his own experience struggling to control it might help him teach me how to do the same."

"Wow," Ahsoka said with mild surprise. "Skyguy's really starting to sound like a grown-up."

We heard laughter erupt from nearby; turning to look, we saw Master Obi-Wan struggle to stop laughing at Ahsoka's remark as her former master rolled his eyes in response.

* * *

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, old man," Anakin said with an eyeroll. "In any case, what was the Council's decision?"

Kenobi finally managed to stop his laughter long enough to catch his breath for a reply. "In light of everything that happened—both in this timeline and the one that would have been, as well as the speeches Masters Yoda and Windu gave when I told them the whole story—they've decided to change some of the rules of the Order... and the 'no attachments, no love, no marriage' part was the first to go. Congratulations, Anakin; you officially have their blessing."

The Chosen One's smile couldn't have been larger. "That... that means a lot. Thank the Force..."

"Speaking of marriage, how is Padme doing?"

"Better than I could have hoped," Anakin responded. "With regards to the whole 'you're going to be mother to twins in a couple of years, give or take' thing, she couldn't be more ecstatic. She's not even terrified!"

Obi-Wan chuckled. "You do look rather nervous about the prospect of fatherhood still. Though I suppose anyone would be..."

"Oh, don't worry. We're planning on having you take on Luke when he gets old enough, as per 'canon'."

Kenobi was no longer in a laughing mood, instead having a rather interesting expression of mild horror. "Train _another_ Skywalker... Force preserve me."

* * *

Anne Madison smiled at the deed in her hand; she was now officially the owner of the abandoned playground where the breach existed, and once she had the money to begin construction of the new "community center" there it would simply be a matter of waiting on Kevin's return. She looked out the window in nothing in particular, reflecting on recent events; she thought she'd have been used to the impossible after the ordeal with Kevin's revelations. When you get right down to it, though, it's difficult not to have a reaction when Not!Ewan McGregor (an actor she had a slight crush on) showed up in disguise to "adopt" the boy in question so as to avoid problems that might arise with his sudden return and disappearance. With a few quick forms filled—as well as a brief mind-trick laden visit with Adoption services—Kevin Caller was now officially the adopted child of "Ben McGregor", an English national on vacation.

"That's very good, Braden! Now stretch out with your feelings..."

Her attention turned to the room; in addition to the whole "fake adoption" thing, the Order had sent one of their human Knights through the breach to give early instruction to the older force-sensitive children at the orphanage—the ones who were already developing abilities but would be too old for the youngling phase of learning by the time Kevin and Marsh returned in roughly five years. It still felt overwhelmingly strange, but in time she supposed she would adjust to what was quickly becoming the new normal.

 _CRASH!_

"Ah! Sorry! I lost control..."

She sighed, walking to the closet for the supplies needed to clean up the fallen vase of flowers. _At least some things never change..._

* * *

"You ever notice how, whenever the world turns crappy, people tend to rush for fantasy or science fiction stories? If you think about it, it makes sense in general. After all, when reality hits you too hard, the urge to escape can be tempting. But that doesn't explain why, sometimes, the stories they run to are almost as depressing as the reality they're running from. And yet, that's precisely what people have been doing for a long while. You see, we often underestimate the relationship between fiction and reality—we write the stories, but at the same time, the stories we read affect our actions and mindset, which in turn affects OUR story.

In a sense, it's kind of a vicious cycle; we see the world going down the tubes, we flock to fiction as an escape—and at first, we head for the inspiring ones, the ones that give us hope. We take that hope, try to put it back in our world, and sometimes it succeeds and the world goes back on its merry way. But sometimes we give up way too early, and lose that hope—at which point we discard the very concept of hope and idealism as 'foolish', 'unrealistic', or worst of all, 'childish'. That's when we turn to the 'gritty realism' (or, more accurately, 'grimderp that is designed to cater to people who have no hope in a cynical moneymaking opportunity while attempting to pass itself off as realism') kind of fantasy or science fiction, where heroes fail, where villains win, where the only real choice is to either burn everything to the ground and start over, or—more often than not—just grab what you can for yourself in what little time remains before the fire consumes you. And when we read those stories, we take that cynicism, put it back into our world, and when the world continues hurtling toward oblivion we act like it was inevitable, when in fact, we are partly to blame; we gave up. Because evidently, giving up is 'cool' and 'edgy'.

I was one of the few people who didn't buy into that crap. That said, I was still part of the problem; I read the hopeful stories and fantasies, but I saw them as nothing more than an escape from a doomed reality. After all, when you're a scrawny 15-year-old geek with no life and no real friends, there's not much you feel you can do aside from read/play/watch your favorite stories—in my case, Star Wars. This was all well and good until the new movies started coming out. Now don't get me wrong, I've actually enjoyed most of J.J. Abram's stuff, and the special effects in the latest movies were top-notch in a way that the franchise had not been for a good while. But as much as it felt like Star Wars for the first time in ages, there was one thing missing, some vital ingredient to the Star Wars recipe that the old canon had, that the new films lacked: hope. These new movies, as much as I loved them, seemed devoid of true hope. Even in the darkest moments of the other ones, even Episode III, there was always some sense that, sure, evil triumphed today, but the heroes will kick ass and everyone will walk away happy in the end. But not in these new tales. Yeah, story-wise, it's obvious the heroes will win in the end. But you don't feel at all optimistic about it. Even when the heroes do succeed, there seems to be some all-pervasive worry that it all might end up being in vain. And that's when I started to feel like giving in and joining the lemmings chuckling to themselves as they walk off the cliff complaining about how much the cliff sucks: when the last truly hopeful stories that I held dear were tempted by cynicism; fortunately for me—and the rest of the world—that's when fate intervened."

"That's all well and good, Master Caller. But that still doesn't explain how you expect all this to work out..."

"Patience, Braden. I'm getting there. You see, the Force granted Marsh and I the opportunity to change the world, but it was still up to us to act on that opportunity; the Force has a plan for all of us, but to ensure the success of that plan we need to have faith and work towards it as best we can. Sometimes we'll fail; even then, however, that failure happens for a reason. Failure teaches us what we need to know; it's not a reason to abandon our ideals or our faith. And I don't just mean faith in the religious sense; faith in our friends, faith in ourselves, faith in the possibility of a brighter future... those are all important to have and hold onto if we're going to have any chance of success in the end. When you get right down to it, sometimes faith is all you have... but sometimes, that's enough. Now the Force has given us another opportunity, and everyone in this room—not just Marsh and me, but every one of you who will form the first generation of Jedi here on Earth—you, Sarah, Alex, Kyle, Michael, Christopher... together, we'll step out that door and introduce ourselves to a candid world. And together, we'll give that world something it hasn't had in centuries."

"Um... what's that, Master Caller?"

"An opportunity, my young padawan. An opportunity."

* * *

 _ **Whew! I'm finally done! I'm almost sad that the ride is over... but every good story has to end somewhere. There will be a one-shot series that I'll occasionally post a short drabble to detailing the new world Kevin and Marsh will create, but that will have to be on FF only (sorry, Spacebattles. Love you, but those updates will be VERY sporadic and I don't want to catch the attention of the necro-mods). But even that will end once I run out of details to add; the rest of the blanks will just have to be headcanon for the rest of you. For now, I'm leaving the Galaxy Far, Far Away behind and moving on to my other in-progress fics. I hope you enjoyed the ride as much as I did, and I'll see you in another fic!**_

 _ **May the Force be with you,**_

 _ **CoGDork**_


End file.
